


The Little Merman

by JynxyB



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (I need a Beta), Alpha Derek, Alpha Scott, BAMF!Stiles, Danny and Stiles are bros, F/M, Jackson is a cutie, Jerk!Scott, M/M, Mama Stilinski Is Alive, Mermaid!Claudia, Merman!Danny, Merman!Stiles, Not exactly somnopilia, jealous!Derek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-02 05:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JynxyB/pseuds/JynxyB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles gets into a fight with Scott after fighting an alpha pack. He makes his way down to the old lake in Beacon Hills to clear his mind of things. People rarely visit the place anymore since it was basically used as a Junkyard. Once Stiles finds that the lake is now clean, He decides to take a little swim. While swimming, his curiosity gets the best of him and he ends up cutting himself on a piece of sparkly..coral? From that day on, Stiles starts acting strange. The pack notices, but they don't question it. Then there's Derek. He notices. He notices that Stiles' scent has changed. He notices that he starts acting different. And that he has an unusual new craving for Fresh Spring Water and sardines.</p><p>{<strong>Discontinued as of right now</strong>.}</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters. If I did, Stiles and Derek would be happening :))))

"It's not my fault!" Stiles retorted as Scott got all up in his grill. And it really wasn't. What was he suppose to do? Take the blow? He didn't have a death wish. He couldn't dodge it like Allison did. Well..she almost fully dodged the charging Beta. To hell if Stiles was just going to run and jump infront of Allison to take the blow. Uh uh. He didn't even like her anyways. Did Scott not remember her trying to kill them? No? Well then.

The pack had just gotten done fighting an alpha pack. And as always someone had to get injured in their pack. Allison. One of the Beta's were charging, ready to protect their alpha. Allison was reaching for an arrow when she finally noticed that the wolf was charging at her. Stiles. Stiles saw. But he stood frozen. His eyes darting from the wolf to Allison before he finally found his voice. "Allison!" He shouted, catching their packs attention. Scott snapped his head toward the scene, hearing his mates' voice being called. He growled, too late of course. He had turned his head just in time to see the Beta smashing into the girl, teeth sinking into her hip. Ouch. And that is how they ended up here, in the hospital. The pack was sitting in the waiting room, watching their alpha and pack mate fight.

"Yes, it is! Because of you, Allison's laying in that hospital bed!" He growled, chest heaving slightly. He truly thought that. He thought that if Stiles were really his best friend than he'd take charge and take the bullet for his girl.

"I can't even believe you right now, Scott. She's been trained! I haven't! I couldn't take that and survive! She's gonna be alright! He only got her hip!" He exclaimed as a nurse hesitantly walked over, not wanting the yelling and occasional shoving to escalate any further.

Scott's nose flared as his eyes flashed a rare red as he growled even louder. "Better you than her." He spat, shoving Stiles harder than before. Stiles was too shocked to even try and keep his balance. He stumbled back before he tripped over his own feet, falling backwards. He hit his head hard against the wall causing him to groan.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. That's enough. If it comes down to it, I'll call security in." The nurse walked over quickly and looked at Scott with a stern look before coming to Stiles' aid.

This outraged Scott even more. Was this women serious? But then again she didn't know what this was about. He wet his lips, glaring at Stiles. He made no attempt to leave as he watched the nurse help Stiles up.

"Sir, I told you to leave" The nurse stated and sighed as she called security. "Dear, Are you alright?" She asked the teen who was rubbing his head.

" 'M fine.." Stiles mumbled as he looked down at the floor, unable to really come up with a smart come back or something like that. Stiles looked up at the guards who were now coming in.

"I'm sorry-I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm leaving. I won't cause anymore trouble. I'm leaving. My apologies." He said in a firm tone as he held up his hands in a sign of defense as he began to walk out of the hospital. He could feel Scott's eyes burning into the back of his head as he exited the building. The nurse furrowed her brows, thinking that the brooding male behind her caused the trouble.

Did Scott really mean that? No, he couldn't. He was just angry..with him that was. Either way, it still made the boy feel bad.

Stiles walked straight to his blue jeep, climbing into it. He dug around in his pocket for the keys before finally finding them. He started it up and just drove. He didn't know where he was going. He wanted to be alone. His father was at home probably drinking again. He got pretty violent when he was drunk. Not abusive..but his words were hurtful. Nothing Stiles couldn't handle though.

He thought for a second..Maybe there was somewhere he could actually be alone for awhile. Just him, himself.

...

Bingo!

That old lake! No one ever goes there anymore. Stiles had only been there once. It wasn't the prettiest lake, but it was quiet. And peaceful. Maybe everybody pitched in to clean it up? Probably not. But maybe Stiles could? When he was in the mood that is.

Stiles ran a hand through his growing quiff, letting out a sigh as he went a little over the speed limit to get to his destination. It was about fifteen minutes later when he came to a dirt road. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, wetting his lips. He let out a small sigh as he looked straight ahead, eyes planted straight on the road.

Stiles parked his jeep, made sure it was parked before he climbed of it. He parked it a few yards away from the lake. He stuffed his keys into his pocket, walking in the direction of the lake. So far it was clean. Stiles nodded as he walked along the path, looking around. To his surprise he saw no trash. None what so ever. He smiled to himself, seeing that someone actually cared enough about the lake to clean it up a bit.

Once he made it to the lake, His jaw dropped. It was beautiful. The lake was surrounded by trees. It was just..Stiles couldn't even describe it. The lake was a beautiful blue, the sun reflecting down on it causing the water to shimmer. Which made the scenery even more fantastic. He pulled out his phone to capture the scenery. It made his eyes sparkle. He walked closer, looking around. He breathed in deeply before letting out a satisfied sigh. He already felt relaxed. His mind drifting off to other things other than the fight he had just had with Scott.

"Wow.." He murmured to himself as he walked to the edge of the lake. He set his phone down in the grass and dug in his jean pockets for his jeans, setting them on the ground before undoing his jeans, slipping them off. He pulled his shirt over his head and off, grinning wide. He had just forgotten about all of his troubles for the time being. It had been so long since he had went swimming. And the lake looked clean. there were no beer bottles, coke cans, plastic bottles, or any other type of trash in there.

Stiles looked around once more, making sure that nobody was watching or present. Because if they were, Stiles wouldn't be here. He braced himself for the coldness that would soon hit him before taking a few steps back. He let out a small breath before he ran three feet and jumped, curling into a ball. He hit the water, feeling the coldness hit his skin. His face was scrunched up as he swam back up to the surface, shaking his head vigorously to get the water out of his hair as he shivered after. He didn't expect the water to be that cold. He licked his lips and grinned wide as he tilted his head back slightly to stare up at the sky.

He felt as if he had no troubles. He didn't know why, but he felt so peaceful all of a sudden. This place made him feel warm inside and happy. It was as if he belonged here.

Stiles spotted a large rock sitting in the water next to the dock. He swam over, finally getting use to the water. He dived back into the water, opening his eyes. He couldn't see that much, but he could tell where the rock was. He smiled to himself, reaching forward to feel over the smooth slightly bumpy curve of the rock. He swam around it, eyes flicking from side to side as if he were looking for something. He never did find anything.

Stiles was sure he had been here for awhile now because his fingers were starting to get pruney. He didn't care though. He wasn't anywhere near hungry yet and he was sure nobody was that worried about him. The pack most likely just thought that the brunette needed to blow off some steam after this afternoon. He didn't feel like leaving the water either. It was only getting a teansy bit dark. Not much. Stiles would leave when he couldn't barely see anything. Yeah. That's when he would leave.

Stiles was just swimming around for fun. He took a deep breath before diving back into the water, going deeper than he had before. He looked around, turning slightly. He was about to just swim upwards until something caught his eyes.

'Shiny.." He thought as he swam closer, the sparkle dimming slightly. Maybe it was just a broken bottle...But they don't float. Plastic maybe? Stiles didn't know. He was just curious. And if it turned out to be just a plastic bottle, he would just throw it out of the water and continue on with his activity.

The object was definitely white. Or grey. Stiles' narrowed the options down to two. It was either white or grey. Stiles swam closer and closer. It was white. And it looked...spiky? Stiles thought for a second before reaching up and touching the hard object. It felt bumpy. And a little spiky. He ran his palm over the flat surface of it and jerked back after a moment, The palm of his hand stinging. He held his hand, adding pressure to the semi big cut.

He furrowed his brows, watching as blood drifted through the water, the red liquid seeping through his cut. He soon found himself running out of breath. He swam up to the surface, floating next to the rock. He leaned against it, gripping one of the edges. He studied his hand for a bit as he panted. It stung like a bitch and his lungs burned.

Stiles was ready to climb the rock and sit on top of it to rest while he studied the wound until he felt something bump into his butt. Sort of nudging at it. It was sort of pointy. And big. This startled Stiles a little bit. He looked around the lake, trying to see if anything was moving in the water. Nothing. He found nothing. The teen gulped as he turned to focus back on the rock he would be climbing..but there it was again. And again. Bumping into his backside.

Stiles furrowed his brows as he bit his lip, thinking on whether or not he should dive back in and try and see if saw anything. He looked back at the cut and saw that it was still bleeding. A little bit..It would only get infected, right? Maybe. Stiles took the chance and ducked back into the water after getting a lung full of air.

He turned in the water, basically twirling around in it. He didn't see anything. It took him a few to see a small dark figure swimming in the water from a far. But he had to squint. He smiled to himself thinking it was just a fish. The figure was seeming to be swimming towards him. A little too fast. The figure got bigger. And bigger. Stiles' eyes grew wide as he froze in the water, his heart hammering against his chest. Holy fuck-That was not a fish. The first thing that popped into Stiles' head was 'Shark'. Sure looked like a god damn shark. But could Sharks really live in lakes?

Stiles didn't care to think about that as he began to flail, managing to swim backwards. He kicked his feet, face stricken with fear. He continued to swim backwards, small air bubbles escaping from his nose and mouth as he fought the urge to scream. He didn't want to die in this lake. Hell no. His body would never be found. Eaten by a shark, that's a way to go.

Stiles was getting ready to turn around and climb up the rock when his head smashed into the side of it. He blinked a few times, confused at first. He started to feel sleepy. He felt his body go limp as he just floated there in the water, staring down at the bottom of the lake. He was engulfed by black. He blinked once more before he felt his eyes droop. He was running out of air. But he felt so tired. Stiles' let his muscles relax as he floated in the water. He soon felt numb as he let his eyes close as he opened his mouth, taking in the water.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stayed up all night writing this. Sorry if there are any mistakes.

Stiles found himself still in the water. He looked around, now being able to see things clearly. But fish swam happily in the water, chasing after one another. He smiled to himself before he went into shock. He could breathe. Underwater. He didn't feel like he was breathing, but he was. His legs were still in contact. And his arms too. He was wearing a shirt and his boxers. He furrowed his brows as he began to swim around some. He saw different color coral and different type of fish everywhere. It seemed that he wasn't in the lake anymore..but an ocean. He tilted his head slightly as he saw what seemed a large fish swimming towards him. His eyes widened. 'Shark!' He thought once more. But it was smaller...And it didn't swim like one. It had a sort of..long dolphin tail..and..arms. Soon a face came into view as well. Dotted with little moles and freckles. Beautiful honey brown eyes. Topped off with a beautiful smile. It was clear that this was a women.  
The women swam without the use of her arms really. Following behind her was a tail..a red scaled tail. Stiles squinted slightly to try and see if this was actually happening right now. If he was actually seeing what his eyes let him. 

She stopped in front of Stiles, wavy long brown hair swishing and swooshing in the water as she let her tail swish slightly to keep her afloat. She smiled at Stiles, a warm and welcoming smile. She reached up and cupped Stiles cheek, the pad of her thumb rubbing against his cheek. 

Stiles looked her over once then twice, his mind going spiral. A mermaid she was. A mermaid. In front of him. Before his very own eyes. And what was the strangest about this was that this women looked familiar. He felt that same gently touch before. He had seen that warm, kind smile before. And her features. To her wavy brown hair, and the way her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, All the way down to her tail. He had felt that he had seen this women before. He just couldn't put his finger on it. That was until she spoke his name. 

"Stiles." The women's voice was so gentle and soft. So..so..melodic. He was sure he had heard and seen this women before. He scrunched up his nose, eyes closing as he tried to concentrate on where he had seen this women. It made the women chuckle. 

Stiles took a dive through his memories. His teen years through his preteens and finally to his childhood. When he wasn't involved in any of this supernatural stuff. Or so he thought anyway. Then finally it donged on him. At first he was shocked. Beyond shocked. He didn't know what to say. Or even do. 

Stiles had played with this women all through out his life. She was his light when he was surrounded by darkness. She was the one who picked him up when he fell down. She always flashed that beautiful smile when Stiles would peck her cheek and chirp an 'I love you!'. This women was the one who stayed up late at night, telling him stories about how she use to rock her baby to sleep when he was very little and let him stay up at night to watch the first ever Batman made in history of Batman movies! This lady was the one who cuddled him to sleep after he awoke from a bad dream. 

"Mama.." His voice cracked. If he wasn't underwater, You could definitely see that he was becoming teary eyed. He reached forward and wrapped his arms around her petite waist. He pulled her close, squeezing her tight. 

The women let out a small laugh as her eyes softened at the sight of Stiles at the moment. She was finally able to see her son after all of those years. She hugged Stiles back, murmuring 'I love you, Baby boy' in his ear over and over again.  
The boy let out small choked sobs as he clung to his mother as if his life depended on it. He buried his head in her shoulder, trying not to get in the way of her gills that fluttered open slightly then shut on her neck. He was pretty sure that was what was helping her breathe underwater. He didn't want to block her airway. 

"Stiles.." She cooed, stroking the boys hair as she pulled away slightly. "Stiles.." She murmured once more, kissing his forehead. She stroked his cheek once more, watching him with a loving expression.  
Stiles listened as his mothers voice spoke his name. Slowly, as Stiles feared, The voice began to fade in and out. Until, eventually, he couldn't hear it any longer. For it wasn't Claudia's voice calling his name anymore. 

"Stiles...Stiles..Stiles!" The teens name was echoing through his head causing him to stir on the hard ground. He groaned, feeling a hand grip at his jaw, shaking his head slightly. The voice was unfamiliar. It rang through Stiles' head over and over again. It was soft. Caring. It was a male of course. 

"Wake up!" It was a whisper now. The echoing continuing on and on. It was a giggle. A girl this time. The girl had a squeaky voice. It was cute. 

"I think he's smiling!" The girl squealed, giggling once more. At the same time the girl spoke, Stiles felt a tickling sensation on his ear. Like someone was speaking in it.  
It took Stiles a moment as he stirred on the ground, groaning. He slowly reached up, pressing his uninjured hand to his head where the headache was more intense.

"He's conscious again..Good." The male sighed.  
Stiles took a minute before his eyes snapped open. He sat up a little too quickly and groaned loudly, covering his face with his arms. He was still wet. He had his clothes on, but they were damp. Apparently when he decided to put them on he was still wet.

"Wait.." Stiles said as he looked up quickly, head snapping from side to side in every direction. Nobody. Nothing. Nada. Those voices..who did they belong to? He slowly got to his feet, wobbling and swaying slightly. He caught himself before he fell on his ass and stood up straight after seeing that he redeemed himself. He could barely see anything since it was night. He just hoped he didn't find himself falling into the lake. 

His memory came flooding back. His eyes widened as he looked around once more, taking in his surroundings. He looked back at the water, staring long and hard. He muttered a small 'Holy shit' before he stumbled back slightly. He instantly looked down at his hand. Dried blood stained his hand, the cut visible. Did that seriously just happen? Shouldn't he be dead? Where was his mom? He felt like he was going to be sick. 

How the hell did he even get dressed? His mind was racing with questions. His face was painted over with panic as his heart began to race. His breath hitched as he leaned down, grabbing his keys and his phone that he left near the lake right before he dived into it. His chest tightened. He felt as if the air was being sucked from his lungs. He turned on his feet, gripping the front of his shirt as he started off slowly to his jeep. It sort of felt like he was having a panic attack. But not quite.

Stiles felt dizzy. He stumbled to his jeep, fumbling with the door handle before he pulled it open. He climbed into his jeep, pushing back the fact that this was not a good time for him to be driving himself home. But who had he to call? Literally no one. Scott would always tell the others to purposely avoid the teen if he did the slightest little thing wrong. And of course, this was one of those situations. 

The Stilinski hesitantly started up his car, hissing as another sheer shock of pain coursed through his head. Like fuck, hadn't he already been through enough lately? And how long had he been laying there on that ground? Not that long he guessed since he was still soaken. 

"Ah, fuck." He grunted as he slammed his hands down on the steering wheel, letting his head loll back. His breathing was heavier now. He shifted in his seat, trying to stay focused on trying to get home. He took a moment to calm down before he began to drive. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove, swerving slightly. He was surprised that he didn't get pulled over when he almost drove off of the rode. It took him longer to get home than it would have if he were alright.

He bit his bottom lip as he parked his car in the front yard instead of the driveway. Well damn. He did a better job parking than he thought he would. He turned off the car and dropped his possessions on the floor as he stumbled through the house. His dad wasn't home..that was sort of good and bad. 

Stiles basically crawled up the stairs to get to the upstairs bathroom. He swallowed hard as he crawled through the hall a little bit. He then got to his feet, letting out a shaky breath. Maybe he had a concussion..He was just so tired. And scared. He had no clue why he was scared. The whole shark thing was scary, yes. But why was he still so shaky?

Once he made it in there, he propped his weight up on the counter, using that to keep him up. He gulped and took a look at himself in the mirror. He blinked, his lips slightly parted as he panted. He was paler than usual..his somewhat sun kissed tan faded away. 

He shook that off and opened the medicine cabinet, searching through it until he found some bandage. He wrapped it around his wound on his hand after putting some Neosporin on it. It burned like fuck, but that would keep it from getting infected.  
He bunched his hand up into a fist, hissing lightly as he walked into his room. He shut his door and walked towards his bed, collapsing down onto it. He curled into his covers, kicking off his shoes. He pursed his lips as he squeezed his eyes shut. His heart still hammering in his chest. His fingers curling into the softness of the blanket as he shifted to get comfortable. He thought maybe a good night sleep would fix everything. This had been a strange and tough day. A good nights rest would do the trick. He hoped. Maybe it wall a dream? Unlikely. Stiles never let his imagination run free like that before.

To his surprise, He had fallen asleep rather quickly. He had curled up into a tight ball, hugging his covers. While he slept, His heart beat calmed down a bit and his breathing regulated some. But he began to cough in his sleep. Choking on air it seemed.  
.....

Stiles awoke to the sound and discomfort of his own coughing. His mouth was dry as fuck and it felt like his tongue was sandpaper. He forced himself to sit up, his head still pounded. He sighed deeply, standing up. He had his balance back. That was a start. He trudged downstairs to find that his father still wasn't home. He walked into the kitchen and stopped at the fridge. He opened the refrigerator door, quickly scanning for something to drink. Orange juice. Ew. No. Too sour. Vitamin water. Tried that. Tastes like shit. He finally found the milk. He grabbed the jug and unscrewed the top before taking huge gulps. It was satisfying for about at least a minute. Then it just made it worse. Stiles continued to cough. It was like he was fucking choking on air like last night. He grabbed a bottle of water. The label having said 'Fresh Spring Water'. Stiles put the milk back then unscrewed the small cap to the water bottle and began chugging it down.  
Before he knew it, the bottle was empty. He was satisfied. For now that was. Once he had gotten dressed and got his things together, he was dying of thirst again. He was paler than last night. And he looked sick. He looked like shit and he felt like shit. Stiles had stopped at the store and searched for 'Fresh Spring Water' and bought about twenty bottles just to be sure. He then drove to school. Having gone through two bottles on the way to school, Stiles tried his best to save them. 

He parked his jeep in the parking lot, looking down at his hand. Still wrapped up. He had remembered that he forgot to wash the blood off of his hand. He'd get to that when he had a free period. He wet his lips as he stuffed four water bottles into his bag, throwing the backpack over his shoulder as he began to walk through the parking lot. He was sort of fidgety now. He had forgotten to take his Adderall again today. But he didn't think that was the case. That piece of coral did a damage on Stiles.  
Stiles got plenty of unwanted stares as he made his way passed his pack and into the school. He let out a shaky breath as he kept his gaze straight forward. He gripped his backpack strap, propping it up so it wouldn't fall before he came to his first period class. The teacher, Mr. Walker who was here to replace Jennifer Blake, had just stared at him. The man furrowed his brows and cocked his head to the side as he focused his attention on Stiles. The students who were already in the classroom were goofing off and proceeding their normal daily routines. 

"Mr. Stilinski..are you feeling alright?" He asked as he walked out from behind his desk, fixing his tie. The class glanced at the middle aged man before turning around to look back at Stiles. Most of them raised their eyebrows and some just looked worried. Even if they didn't know him or weren't friends with him, They had to admit: Something looked awfully wrong with Stiles. He looked as if he had a disease of some kind. He was paler than a ghost, he was shaky, and he looked distressed. He was sweating a little bit too. 

Stiles sat down in his seat, slumping back in it slightly. He looked up at Mr. Walker as he spoke. He hesitated before nodding slightly. He gave a small cough then another groan before unzipping his backpack and pulling out a bottle of Fresh Spring Water, gulping it down. He set the half empty bottle down on his desk, wiping his mouth with his shirt sleeve. Everyone sat and watched as Stiles gulped the water down. They all looked a little shocked. Except for one of Stiles' classmates. Danny Mahealani. He looked a little distraught as well. 

" 'M fine, Teach. Just a little headache." He gave a small smile as he let his head drop down on the desk in his arms. He covered his head with his arms, shifting slightly. He bit his lip giving a little sniffle. 

"Stilinski, You look like you've been bleached and you just about downed that whole bottle of water in one go. But..if you say so." The man sighed as the bell ring, signalling class had begun. Students came piling into class, one after another. They all saw what the teacher was writing on the board and quieted down as requested. Each of them turning in their chair to see what was wrong with the usually overly hyper and talkative Stiles Stilinski. 

Mr. Walker had written on the board 'Quiet down, Class. When you come in, take your seats and just read until I tell you today's lesson.' Usually he wouldn't be worried about Stiles. But..this time it was different. He looked almost dead. 

All day Stiles mind drifted off to that dream that he had last night. Of his mother. It made him smile. But he hadn't had a dream about his mother for awhile. And what would possess Stiles to dream about his mother being a mermaid? He couldn't say that she didn't make a beautiful mermaid. Because without a doubt, She definitely did.  
Stiles was use to everyone staring now. Every class period. Even lunch. Not that he really ate anything at lunch. He had walked out to his jeep about two times to get more water. He was down to only about..5 bottles now. As Stiles expected, Nobody came up to sit with him at lunch. Well..there was Danny. But he sat on the far side away from Stiles. As if he were going to catch a disease. Danny sat in silence as he ate, occasionally stealing glances at Stiles when he thought the other teen wasn't looking. But of course he was. Out of the corner of his eye, Each time he did so, Stiles could see the way Danny stared at him. Longing to do something. Like he knew he could do something to help. 

By the time school was over, Stiles was out of water. And his mouth was dry as fuck again. It was like he was trying to eat sand and dust. It didn't work out too good. He was starting to feel dizzy again. He stumbled down the steps of the school entrance, gripping the railing for support as his eyes darted around, studying the smallest of movements. Jackson noticed..His wolf was whining and growling at him: Snapping at him. He wanted to be around Stiles. Be around the rest of his pack. Jackson would never admit it, but Stiles was his favorite. He would always hide his laugh with a blank face when Stiles said a joke. And he loved it when Stiles played with his hair even though he would growl at him to stop, which he never did. But of course, he ignored the boy as he remembered his alpha's orders. He turned on his heel, following after Lydia who was talking about going to the mall later on today. 

Stiles made it off of the stairs safely, coughing and sniffling repeatedly. He rubbed his eyes, leaning against the railing. He moaned and groaned as he forced himself to stay up. His mouth hanging open as he panted. Dear god, he sounded like a dog. 

Danny Mahealani came darting out of school. He jogged down the steps, instantly finding Stiles next to the stairs. He walked towards him, digging around in his bag for something. After a moment of fishing around in there, He pulled out a bottle of Fresh Spring Water. He unscrewed the cap and handed the bottle to Stiles. 

Stiles would have asked what was up with him and would have told him that he didn't need anything, but he most definitely did. It was obvious. He took the water with a small nod of 'thank you' before he just gulped down the water. The whole bottle this time. Some of it spilling down Stiles' chin. But he didn't care. He dropped the bottle, panting and breathing deeply after he finished off the water.

"Refreshing.." Stiles grinned as he stood up straight, stretching. He rubbed his eyes, looking around once more. He was studying everybody's movements again. The way they walked. The smallest flaw. Everything. His face dropped as another wave of discomfort washed over him. 

"You need more water." Danny stated as he took Stiles by the arm. He tugged him along, biting his lip. He moved hurriedly towards Stiles' jeep, basically dragging the boy along. 

As if Stiles didn't know this himself.

"Yeah. I know. I can go get it on my own." He said as he stumbled to keep up with Danny. He just let him drag him towards his own jeep and stared at Danny like he was crazy once the teen had turned around, holding his hand out, waiting. 

"What?" Stiles looked at Danny then down at his awaiting hand. 

"Give me your keys." Danny wriggled his fingers, still waiting. 

"Why?" Stiles asked as he furrowed his brows. He wasn't going to let just anybody drive his baby. No. 

"You're getting too weak too fast. And if you drive, You'll kill us both. Chances are, you'll pass out before we even get there." Danny said as he took a step forward, standing face to face with him now. A little too close for Stiles' liking. 

"Wha--I don't under--Where the hell are we going?" Stiles stumbled over his words as he leaned against his jeep, eyes closing slightly, barely open. He did feel weaker..

"To the lake. To get you into some fresh water. That'll stop you from going frail. You need it. Trust me. I've been through this before. And it's not fun, Prin--I mean, Stiles. I know. So, just trust me and hand over the keys. The faster we get there, the faster this'll be all over with." Danny explained as he avoided Stiles' gaze for a moment. He was about to say something, but Danny stopped himself. And Stiles didn't quite catch that. But he didn't question him though.

Stiles swallowed hard, his mouth starting to get dry once more. He listened to Danny and furrowed his brows. He didn't understand. Why must he go back to that damned lake where he almost drowned? Where he was sure he was going to be attacked by a shark. 

"I know you'll think I'm insane--But I swear to you, There was something in that lake. I think it was a shark-I don't know. Okay?" He freaked, standing straight only to lose his balance completely. Danny being the awesome guy he is, reached forward as soon as Stiles stood up straight. He grabbed him by the arms, pulling him close. He slipped an arm around his waist and helped him into the passengers side. He climbed into the driver's side after, sighing. 

"I don't think you're insane. I know." He nodded as Stiles hesitated before finally handing Danny his keys. 

"Well, gee. Thanks." Stiles rolled his eyes as Danny began to drive. Danny pulled out of the parking lot and began their drive towards the lake entrance. He had noticed everything. The stares and even heard the small annoying whispers of other students commenting about Stiles and Danny's actions. But he was unaware of a certain pair of red eyes that glared at him from behind as he sped off towards his and Stiles' destination. A man dressed in a leather jacket, black shirt,black skinny jeans, and black boots stepped out from his hiding place, which was out in the open really, and growled low in his throat, arms crossed over his chest. 

Where was this guy taking his human? 

"Derek!" A certain blonde waved, smiling happily as she made her way through the parking lot, towards the big oak tree that he was standing by.  
...  
"How..how did you know..how do you know about the lake? And how did..you know that I was there?" Stiles asked, his sentences shortened since he was running out of breath again. Heart racing once more. 

"Because I visit the place quite often." He answered as he drove a little faster, glancing over at Stiles to see how he was doing so far. "Because I was there." He said as he gripped the steering wheel tight. 

Stiles was shocked. But he didn't think..Maybe Danny was the one who cleaned the lake up? And if Danny was there..where was he? Too many questions to have formed in just one day..

They soon arrived at the lake, Danny parking the jeep closer to the lake than Stiles had. Stiles was curled up in his seat, moaning as he let his head loll from side to side lazily, his mouth gone completely dry now.  
Danny slid out of the jeep and walked over to the passengers side, helping Stiles out of the car. He lifted him up, carrying him bridal style towards the lake. Stiles was too tired to protest. He didn't care right now. 

Danny settled Stiles down in the grass. He tugged off Stiles top, having to do all of the work. Stiles nearly limp body propped up against his. He worked on his jeans next. 

"Hey..hey..take me on a date first." He gave a small grin, chuckling softly. He coughed harshly, shivering slightly as the cold air hit his skin. He was left in his boxers now. 

Danny snorted. "Yeah. Whatever floats your boat, Prince." He scoffed as he worked on his clothes next. He then picked Stiles back up, carrying him towards the lake once more. Now Stiles caught that. 

"Prince?" Stiles questioned quietly, barely audible. Danny ignored that and shivered slightly as he slowly climbed into the water, bracing himself for what came next. Shit the water was freezing. 

"Holy--" Stiles breath hitched as the cold water came in contact with his skin. He clung to Danny, arms wrapped around his neck. He shivered, teeth chattering slightly. He squeezed his eyes shut as his legs began to feel all tingly. He buried his face into the crook of Danny's neck as the teen kicked his legs slightly to keep them afloat in the water. 

"What's..?" Stiles asked as he looked down in the water. His legs visible, but they tingled still. Tickled sort of. 

"Tickles don't it?" Danny grinned as he watched Stiles' legs. Danny reached forward, running his fingers over Stiles' smooth hairless legs,the feeling of smooth disappearing slowly. 

"Just a little.." Stiles murmured as he watched Danny's actions. He let out a small yelp as his legs became sensitive to Danny's touch. And the other boy instantly jerked his hand back. 

Stiles wasn't ready for what happened next. Danny just let go. Letting Stiles drop down into the water. Stiles took in the water, choking slightly. He reached up, trying to grab at Danny's leg. But there was nothing. It took him a moment to realize..he wasn't choking. This was another dream? Stiles' legs proceeded on with the tingling. It was so intense that Stiles was actually squirming around in the water. He pressed his legs together tightly, hoping that that would stop the weird sensation. Then he felt something..weird on his neck. He reached up, feeling over the small slits that fluttered open slightly then shut. 

Stiles was freaking out. What the fuck was happening to his legs? He whined slightly as he heard a small chuckle. It took awhile for the tingling to stop. To the teen, he thought it was forever. But truth be told it was only about thirty minutes tops. He whined softly, finally opening his eyes. He looked down at his legs after seeing that he couldn't pull them apart. He looked down to find that he didn't have a pair of legs, but a tail instead. A dark red tail, scales covering it. He looked down at his tail, lips slightly parted. He felt fine now. The bandage wrapped around his hand was now soaked and ruined. 

His mother's tail was a bright beautiful red. It had sparkled a bit when the sun hit it creating a beautiful sight. His..the only difference was that it was a darker shade of red.  
Stiles took a moment to process what was going on before he tried to move--swim! But he couldn't. He soon became frustrated with himself. He groaned, looking around as he heard more chuckling. 

"Use your hips. Your hips, Prince." Danny chuckled as he swam by, enjoying the scene before him. Danny had a gorgeous tail. Light green, covered in scales as well. His tanned toned torso fitting the body perfectly. He watched Stiles try and try before he finally succeeded. Stiles gave a shrill of excitement, grinning widely to himself as he got the hang of this. Danny watched as the petite boy swam around happily, not even affected about the fact that instead of legs, He had a tail and that he grew gills on the sides of his neck. 

"You're not as freaked out as I thought you were going to be." He commented as he swam around Stiles. This one was different. Out of all of the newcomers to have gone through this in awhile, Stiles was the most calm and collected. Well, he was the Queens son indeed. That's who he was told he was most like, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued..


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update :/ I was super busy. There's literally at least three tests for me each week at school. Gotta study. But I took some time for this chapter just for you guys. Hope you like it :)

Stiles had his tongue stuck out in concentration as he worked on swimming with Danny. He pursed his lips, listening to Danny as he told him to slow down. Stiles didn't think he was going that fast, but apparently he was. He wasn't freaking about like Danny thought he would. He was actually taking this pretty well. Until all of these questions started popping up in the slightly younger teen's head. And damn, Danny never knew that Stiles could talk that fast. But luckily, He got every single word in. He let it soak in before he said anything.

"Alright..Repeat that again? Slowly this time. One question at a time." Danny nodded slowly, trying to get Stiles to understand that he couldn't comprehend all of that. Which in response, Stiles let out a groan, tail swishing here and there. 

"Why..how? Why am I a mermaid?" Stiles asked, still tricking himself into thinking that this was still a dream. After examining his hand for the wound he had gotten earlier, He stared at Danny long and hard, obviously not wanting his questions to be pushed aside. The cut had somehow healed, the bandage floating through the water. 

"Merman would be the correct term and..Ah..Your mother..Que--Claudia.." Danny began, frustrated with himself. Because he was so use to calling the women 'Queen' and that would make Stiles the 'Prince'. But he had known Stilinski for quite awhile now. Even if they didn't talk or anything, he figured that the teen wouldn't want to be called 'Prince'. 

Stiles chest tightened as he heard his mothers name being said. "My mother? What about her?" He asked, shakily. Instantly, he thought of that dream he had. It was so realistic..He actually thought he had his mother back for a second. "How do you know my mothers name?" He questioned wildly as he furrowed his brows. If he remembered correctly, Only a few of his teachers knew his mothers name along with Scott. 

"Yeah. Claudia is a very nice women. She's very beautiful too..And you take after her too! It's true! See--You're tail. It's a slightly darker shade of red. And it's literally sparkling. Like Claudia's. The only difference is that her tail is a lighter shade of red. You two could be twins!" He mused, tilting his head as he nodded to himself. "Ah..but I'm getting off subject, Aren't I?" He sighed and went on with how he knew about Stiles' mother. 

"Wait-Wait..'is'? But she's dead.." Stiles' expression hardened as he continued to stare at Danny. She was dead..right? Why was Danny talking about his mother in the first place? More questions filled Stiles head. 

"Wait..wait. A tail? Her tail? She was a mermaid? How do you-" Stiles asked, lips slightly parted as Danny cut him off. 

"Let me explain. Alright? Just calm down. I can tell you're getting mad and impatient. Just let me explain." Danny sighed as he tried to calm Stiles down. Wouldn't want him having a panic attack.

Stiles bit his lip, teeth sinking into the flesh, breaking the skin some. A small amount of blood spilling from the small cracks, the red liquid slowly flowing through the water. He nodded, trying to be patient. But this was his mother for Christs sake. How could he be?

"Okay..so let's start from the beginning." Danny said calmly as he gave a brief nod. He cleared his throat, remembering all of the details clearly from when him and Stiles had first met.  
.......  
It was warm above the surface out here in Sunnydale, California at the beach. Something Danny wasn't use to. Because he had never been above the water before. And to be honest, it wasn't as frightening as his people said it to be. It was quite fascinating actually. How they didn't have tails. The people were running around the beach, playing with each other, giggling and giving shrieks of joy while they chased after each other. 

The tanned skin boy's tail swished in the water as he stay afloat, his head the only thing visible above water at the moment. His wet hair pressed against his forehead. He wasn't suppose to be up here. Above the surface that is. His mother always said that it was dangerous up there. She had told him a lot about it up there. Well..about the people anyways. He didn't know why. It seemed alright to him. He could actually breath up here too! It was so cool! Danny noticed that things were different up here. People were walking on these two stick like things. What did his mother call them again...legs were they? Yeah, that was it! Legs! They were walking on legs instead of swimming with a tail. And they didn't have gills on their neck either. How did they breathe underwater then? His mother called them humans. These humans were quite strange. 

Danny stay somewhat far out in the ocean, away from the shore. He was floating next to a group of rocks, letting out small breaths as he watched some teenagers chase after each other on the beach, kicking sand at each other and playfully shoving one another. Danny began to wonder how it would feel to have a set of legs. To be able to run around like that with other kids. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a voice. 

"Hey!" 

Danny gasped, arms flailing as he turned in the direction of the voice, water splashing everywhere. His eyes widened as he saw one of those 'humans' sitting on top of a rock next to him. Oh God, he was going to be in deep trouble if he got caught with this human. He was forbidden to be around humans. His mother said so. 

Danny dunked back into the water, swimming down a bit. He had been seen..more importantly had been near a human. What would his mother do if she found out? His father. Oh, God. He was going to be turned into sushi if his parents were to find out. Even if they weren't around to see him, They had their ways of finding things out. And they knew if Danny were lying. He wasn't even suppose to be up here. He snuck away from his parents while they met with the Queen and King of Azuretopia the underwater city down below. They were having some discussion about their daughter having married one of those humans from above. And how much of a disgrace it was. Queen Camilla was becoming old and was quite frail. She needed someone to take the throne once her and her husband have passed. And she had no other kids than Claudia Emerson. But she had chosen to be above the surface with humans instead of her own kind. A disgrace it truly was. 

"No!" The human shrieked, leaning over the rocks to look at the water where the boy had sunk down. He could barely see him, but he could make out the swaying and swishing of hair. He knew the boy was still there. 

"Please, Don't hide from me! I didn't mean to scare you! I don't have any friends to play with. I don't have any friends at all!" It was obviously a male who was speaking. The voice was somewhat squeaky like a girls. Danny could make out what the boy was saying, his hearing heightened. An ability of a few that merman's/mermaids possess. 

Danny thought for a second, biting his lip. How could this guy not have any friends? Must be very lonely.. Danny hesitated, taking some time to think about this. His parents wouldn't find out..so what was the harm? And by the voice and from taking a short glimpse at the human. He could tell that he was no threat. Nor older than seven..maybe eight. 

"I didn't mean to scare you!" The boy reassured letting out a huff after. 

It didn't take much to figure out that this boy didn't mean any harm. He slowly and hesitantly swam back up, looking directly at him. Short brown hair, honey brown eyes and tiny moles dotted his skin. He wore a small yellow life jacket, a red tank top underneath and a pair of shorts. No shoes. He was obviously soaked. 

"Stiles." The boy thrust his hand out, a grin plastered on his face, waiting patiently for Danny to shake his hand. 

Danny stared at Stiles, studying the boy closely. He didn't reach up to shake Stiles' hand. He just stared. In response he got a shrug. Stiles looked Danny over before he caught the gills on his neck. His grin still remained. 

"Danny.." He mumbled, biting his bottom lip nervously. 

"You have gills too?" Stiles asked as he let his extended arm drop to his side. He adjusted himself on the rock so that he was sitting on his bottom now. 

Danny quirked a brow, looking Stiles over again. He didn't have gills. No. 

"Yeah..do you?" He tilted his head, eye searching Stiles for the little slits. Maybe he had them somewhere else?

"My momma does!" He chirped, trying to slide off of the rocks and into the water without actually slipping and hurting himself. He stuck his tongue out in concentration, gripping the rocks to support himself. 

"She does?" Danny asked, curiously, as he watched Stiles try to get down in the water. 

"Yeah. She has a tail and everything. But no one believes me. My teachers say that I have too wild of an imagination for a seven and a half year old. But it's true though!" The brunette huffed, aggravated. 

Danny listened, suddenly interested. He squeezed his eyes shut as water splashed every where once Stiles slipped off of the rocks and went head first into the water. A shriek could be heard from the other side of the rocks. 

Danny watched as the boy disappeared into the water. He looked up at the rocks as he patiently waited for the boy to swim back up. But he never did. After some time, he started panicking. And it didn't help much when he saw the yellow life jacket float up to the surface without the boy in it. 

Once Danny found out that Stiles actually did have gills and could breath underwater, They played for what seemed like hours. Chasing after schools of fishes and poking at the umbrellas of box jellyfish. Stiles couldn't swim fast, So Danny swam slowly. Just for Stiles. Stiles was indeed different, but in a good way. Their fun was soon interrupted by terrified shrieks. 

"Stiles, Baby! C'mere! You shouldn't sneak away from momma like that! It's time to go, 'Nim!"

And that's when Danny met her. The princess of Azuretopia. She was beautiful just as everyone back in the city described her. Golden honey brown eyes, wavy curly brown hair down passed her shoulders that was flowing through the water as she swam. Panic painted her face. How did Danny know that this was the princess? Her tail. Rumor had it that nobody but the royal family had a red tail. And hers..it was a cherry red. Sparkling like glitter had been sprinkled all over it. But that was only because of the suns rays reflecting off of it. She was pure beauty. Danny just stared, lips slightly parted in surprised. 

"Momma, I made a new friend though." Stiles grinned as his mother wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. 

"That's good, Hun. But don't run off like that. It's dangerous. How many times have I told you, Young man?" She scolded, looking down at her boy sternly. 

"I'm sorry, Momma. Twice. You told me twice. But I made a friend, Momma! With a person! He has a tail and gills too!" He said matter-of-factly. He was so proud of himself, having made his very first friend. 

"Stiles--What?" Her eyes widened as she looked behind Stiles, tilting her head. Danny was still staring: Stunned. It took a moment before he snapped out of his trance. 

 

"P-princess Claudia.." He bowed slightly, biting his lip. 

"Young man.." Claudia gave a small brief nod in response. She hadn't been called that since the day she had left Azuretopia. She hadn't seen her kind in the likes of forever. This was quite surprising. Her people had never been above surface. Or this close to the beach before. Too afraid they would get caught and turned into cat food or sushi, they kept their tails down below. 

"Princess Claudia..this is your son?" He questioned, gesturing to the fidgeting Stiles. He would have never guessed. That Stiles was her son and that she even had a child! If this was her child that would make her a queen. 

"Yes..He is. And you are, May I ask?" Claudia let go of her boy, but held his hand to make sure that he wouldn't swim off to play with god knows what that's out there in the rest of the ocean. 

"Danny Mahealani." He answered right away, embarrassed with himself for answering so quickly. It made Claudia chuckle. 

"Of the Mahealani family, I see? Is your mothers name Opal, Perhaps?" She smiled lovingly. 

Danny nodded vigorously, fists balled at his sides as his tail swayed in the water. 

"I am..or was a good friend of Opal's.." She nodded to herself as she gave Stiles' hand a small squeeze.

"You were once friends with my mom?" Danny asked, eyes widening. That was so cool! But why didn't his mother ever tell him that?

Claudia nodded.

"She was quite the ambitious one. Was clumsy sometimes when it came to certain things." Claudia proceeded. 

"Like dancing." Claudia and Danny said in unison, earning a grin from both of them.

"Yes..where are your parents now?" Claudia asked, tilting her head once more. 

"Ah..um..at a meeting.." He trailed off. 

Claudia waited for him to continue as Stiles ran his hands over her tail, completely oblivious to the conversation and what was going on really. 

"With the king and the queen..Mom said that they were getting older by the day and weaker. The king and queen ordered a meeting at the palace to determine who would take the throne when they pass." Danny explained with small movements of his hands. 

Claudia listened carefully, remaining calm. She nodded along his words, pursing her lips as she thought. She wasn't going to question if she had or hadn't made the right choice when she left the water with the help of the maiden that possessed the power of magic that lived in the city. 

Danny hadn't expected to meet a prince and a queen on the same day. But hey, he wasn't complaining here. 

"You shall take me to the palace..Papa can wait a little longer until dinner, Huh?" Claudia directed Danny before she turned her attention back to Stiles and laughed softy. 

"Yeah." Stiles nodded with a grin. 

Danny did as he was told, taking Stiles by the hand and pulling him aside to play once they arrived at the palace. Gasped could be heard from the palace making Danny gulp as Stiles just furrowed his brows in confusion. They just brushed it off and continued to play with the dolphins and fish that swam through the city. Literally everyone was in the palace for the meeting. So, they weren't approached. 

"Your mom's a queen..the queen. And you didn't tell me?" Danny asked as if he had known Stiles for his whole life. He watched as Stiles' eyes flickered from multiple things, excitement and interest showing in his eyes...weird. 

"Huh?" Stiles asked, looking up at the older boy. He didn't know. He didn't know anything except for the fact that his mother was a mermaid. And that there were others out there too. Now anyways. 

"Your mom's the queen. And she's going to take the throne! Do you not understand this?" Danny rambled on. 

"No." He answered bluntly as he stared a fish in the eyes. Strange indeed.

Danny scoffed, smiling afterwards. He shrugged it off, continuing to study the human. It took him some time before it finally donged on him. Stiles had ADHD.

"I forgot to take my meds today." Stiles chirped before he began making fishy faces at the fish. 

Danny nodded slightly and just went with it.

Claudia took the throne after her parents death without much fuss. She sometimes visited the surface, looking back at the beach. Stiles came back to Azuretopia every now and then. A few times a week. After school, John, Stiles father would take him to the beach to meet up with Danny. And like always, Danny would escort Stiles right on down to the city. It was a normal routine. Claudia was always happy to see her baby. Then he started complaining about his legs hurting. 'Growing pains' his father said. But Claudia knew better. And then Stiles began to have the thirst for water constantly. So much that John would literally have to drop him off at the beach and let him go back to Azuretopia. That was the only time that Stiles didn't complain. He was constantly in the water. To the point that there was no separation between him and the ocean. 

Claudia knew what was happening. There was no stopping it. And she wouldn't stop it even if she could. Because it was bound to happen some time in the young boys life. Stiles was now nine. And he was doing better. But the pain in his legs soon returned a few days after his birthday. 

Stiles was swimming with Danny through the city when the pain hit him. It was so unbearable that he didn't even try to move his legs. His face was scrunched up in pain as he balled his fists at his sides. Danny was asking him what was wrong. He didn't know what was going on. Stiles was just fine yesterday! Danny swam off to go get somebody for help. It took him a few minutes before he returned. But he wasn't expecting to see Stiles with a tail and no legs. 

Stiles' eyes were squeezed shut as he whimpered, tail swaying slightly. A darker shade of red. He was indeed a royal. 

When Claudia was alerted of what had happened, she just smiled and told the guards to send her boy in. Danny was tugging Stiles through the water, concern written all over his face as he pulled Stiles towards his mother. 

"Oh, Don't worry, Danny. Stiles will be alright. He has completed his change. And that's wonderful." She said reassuringly, taking her son by the hand. There she taught Stiles how to swim using the tail. It took him some time, but he mastered his skills after a few days of training. 

Stiles then returned to his regular routine. He would visit every once in a while. His father had missed him too. It was bad enough that he couldn't see Claudia anymore. Since the queen was suppose to look over the city, The rules stated that the queen couldn't leave the city. But she broke that rule a few times. 

Everything was perfect until one day the maiden who had helped Claudia exchange her tail for legs came out of her hiding place after two years. She had heard that Claudia was back. And she wanted her..reward for helping the queen out. Claudia for once was confused. The women had snuck passed the guards and was now face to face with her demanding her reward. 

"Yes..for helping you with your pathetic love life 12 years ago. My reward..Don't tell me you've forgotten already? You promised you would give me what ever I asked for." She snickered, her overly long pointy fingernails trailing over Claudia's jaw. 

Claudia frowned deeply, fighting to keep herself in control. To be the stronger person here. Claudia never broke a promise. But what she had said 12 years ago could cost her everything. 

"So I did promise that. How could I have forgotten? What would you like in return, Maiden? Gold coins? Pearls? Clams?" Claudia sat on her throne as she waited for the women to answer her. 

"Oh..I would like--" Before the witch could finish, laughter filled the room. 

Danny and Stiles had swam through the entrance of the room and were play wrestling. Twirling and tumbling through the water with each other just having a good time. Usually Claudia wouldn't mind..but this was a different matter.

The two came to a stop and redeemed their selves when they heard their queen clear her throat. Stiles cleared his throat as well, biting his bottom lip to suppress a small giggle. Danny nudging him in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"Mom! Guess wha--" It didn't take long until Stiles noticed the women infront of his mother. He tilted his head and looked her over. Instead of the sea shell bra his mother wore, the women had star-fish covering herself. 

The women twirled around to look at the boy who was speaking. She was about to growl at him about how rude it was to interrupt grown up business, but something caught her eye. 

"Oh.." A smirk slowly slipped onto her face as she saw the boy with the red tail. She looked him over before turning back to the queen. She definitely knew what she wanted from the queen now.

"I take it that's your son, Claudia? You did promise anything.." She chuckled, amusing herself. This made Claudia scowl.

Stiles furrowed his brows, sensing the dark aura his mother now possessed. Danny must have to because he was glancing between the women and Claudia. He was shifting uncomfortably, not knowing what was going on. 

"Don't speak of my son. Don't even look at him. If you ever lay a hand on my child's head, I will make sure you never see daylight again. Do you hear me, Witch?" Claudia growled, rising from her throne. 

"Intimidating, Claudia. Truly. Oh, how you've hurt me." The witch snickered, arms crossed over her chest. 

"I'll give you gold, pearls even. But I will not even consider on letting you take my son." She spat, eyes flashing a rare green. 

That's when the guards came. They sensed the sudden aura change. Even the people of the city were gathering around the palace because of that reason. 

"It's the witch!" One guard announced, pointing at the women infront of their beloved queen. It was their duty to keep the royals safe. So, they approached. Their tritants pointed at the witch. It looked like she was well known..

Another guard grabbed Stiles and Danny by their forearms, pulling them back away from the scene. Or at least tried to anyways. Something had latched onto the guard's head, making him cry out and let go of the boys. Danny's mother was helping the guard get the octopus off of his head before his skull was crushed by the power of the octopus' tentacles that weren't willing to let go of the man's head. 

"You are truly weak. Summoning your creatures upon my kingdom. My people. My guards. Truly weak. You always did depend on your magic after all.." Claudia scoffed, her silver crown sliding out of her hair and floating down to the floor soundlessly as she moved to strike the witch with nothing but her hands. 

Stiles' eyes widened as she saw his mother slap the women. She had never harmed a thing in her life. Except for now that was. And it was all because of him. Danny grabbed Stiles by the wrist, dragging him out of the palace where the mermen and mermaids were surrounding it. Danny pushed passed the people, managing not to get hurt in the process. 

"But my mom--Danny, I can't leave her!" Stiles cried as he looked back at the palace. So much screaming and yelling could be heard. Peoples gasps filled the air just like the evening that Claudia first returned to Azuretopia after all of those years. 

"They're fighting over you, Stiles! Your mother will be fine! I promise. I would never lie to you, Prince. Your mother is the queen of Azuretopia. If I'm correct, She possesses more power than her parents. Or any of her ancestors for that matter! She will be fine!" He promised. This is just what his mother told him. And he assumed that it was true. And the way that the queen's eyes flashed green back there...

"You promise?" Stiles asked, shakily. 

"Of course." He nodded, giving Stiles hand a gentle squeeze before they began on fleeing. Danny didn't care where they were going as long as they were out of danger. He had promised Claudia that he would keep Stiles safe and he couldn't break that promise. 

Danny had lots of time to think about what to do next. Get Stiles up to shore. The currents were getting strong. And waves were crashing up above. It was clearly storming. 

"The queens mad.." Danny breathed, trying not to get caught in the current. But that was kind of hard..considering the queen was the most dangerous when she was angry. This had only happened once before. Stiles wasn't there at the time. He was busy out with his dad for the whole week doing some Dad &Son bonding activities. Another kingdom had threatend theirs and tried to declare war. But Claudia had a much larger army than the others. It was an easy win. But it was over a stupid matter. Claudia wouldn't accept the offer of arranging a marriage between her son and their daughter, Princess Rosalind of the Sapphire kingdom. So they declared war. Claudia wasn't going to force her son into marriage. He was only nine! And besides..Stiles was showing some signs of liking boys anyway.

"That's bad? Yes, that's bad." Stiles asked then answered his own question. He was hurrying. Really trying to keep up with Danny. But the current was too strong. And Danny's grip on Stiles' hand was loosening. Stiles was trying so so hard. But his hand slipped. He had gripped Danny's index and pointer finger with his own, but he slipped. Thus causing Stiles to go tumbling backwards a few yards. 

Danny came to a halt, spinning around and looking back at Stiles. The current pulling him back as well. He pursed his lips, scrunching up his nose in concentration as he swam back after him. It was getting dark already. Kind of hard to see. But he could still see where Stiles was. 

Danny had almost gotten into the reach of Stiles when tentacles wrapped around his arms and tail. The medium sized suction cups hurt. It felt like his skin was about to be ripped off. 

He shouted out to Stiles, but three more of the creatures had wrapped themselves around Stiles as well. They pulled them both apart in the opposite directions. 

The witch from before had appeared out of the blue, stroking Stiles' cheek adoringly. She cooed, watching him flinch in fear. She chuckled and shook her head as she leaned down and pecked his cheek. 

"No need to be afraid of me, Sweetheart." She cooed once more, looking him over again. The way she stared at him..like he was rightfully hers..It just..It didn't feel right. 

"I've taken care of that women you use to call 'mother'...now I can be the one to take care of you." She smiled, littering him with kisses.

Stiles shifted uncomfortably in the hands of the tentacles, trying to turn the other way when ever she went to peck his cheek or forehead again. He whimpered and eventually groaned beginning to get irritated. 

He sunk his teeth into the tentacle that was covering his mouth. He bit into it, squeezing his eyes shut. He heard a monstrous squeal and instantly, like that, the octopus that had its tentacles wrapped around Stiles' arms and mouth was swimming away, ignoring its masters calls to get back there. 

"Where's my mom?" Stiles spat, ignoring the taste that was now in his mouth. 

"Feisty. It's what I look for in a son. Demanding aren't you? But that wasn't very nice. You do know that, Don't you?" She smirked as Stiles tried getting the other two octopuses off of him. Stiles was about to answer, but the shouting of men wasn't too far behind. 

"Celestine! Get your dirty hands off of the Prince! What gives you the right?" The head guard growled, holding his tritant in a defensive stance.

"Your queen owes me. And in her words she said 'Oh yes! When I return to Azuretopia, I will give you anything in exchange for my life on land with John! I promise! Anything you desire!'." The witch mimicked Claudia's voice. It was dripping with jealousy and anger. 

"I am not able to have children. No one will ever love an Amador! I wish for a son of my own. And I now have one." Celestine spat, arms wrapping around Stiles protectively. Amador's were known as evil creatures throughout the years. They were known as spell casters--Witches! All the way back to the 1400's. Only Amador's and Quaker's got together. And as far as anyone knew there were no Quaker's left. Claudia's father had slaughtered the last Quaker. Jeremy Lee Quaker. Accused of stealing jewelry and gems, the previous king had him slaughtered. 

Stiles whimpered, squirming and wriggling in her arms, the octopus having been ordered to release him already. 

"Celestine, It is clear that Stiles doesn't want anything to do with you. Once Queen Claudia finds you here like this, She will end you. And we will not stop her this time." The guard said, giving her one last chance to leave the royal alone. 

It wasn't long until another fight began, Guards against the creatures and Claudia against Celestine. Danny was still back there struggling with the creatures while all of this was going on. 

Stiles hesitated before he swam off after Danny, the currents having gotten worse. He struggled to make his way through them, but eventually got through. He was so scared..but angry at the same time. He was scowling as he tried to untangle Danny from the octopuses. He got so frustrated that he dug his nails into the tentacles and said these..chants? This somehow hurting the creatures, causing them to let go of the boy and swim away. 

Danny was left with medium sized hickeys/bruises covering his torso and arms. He hissed, stretching out his arms. He looked back at Stiles and stared at his now dark green eyes, lips slightly parted.

"W-we have to go, Stiles. Let's go. Gotta get you back up to the beach. You'll be safe there." He nodded and took Stiles by the hand again, swimming upwards. They made it above the surface. But as Danny feared, It was storming horribly. A huge wave came crashing down, pushing them back into the water. 

Once they recovered, Stiles and Danny swam back up, looking around. They weren't too far away from the shore. They dived back down and swam as fast as they could, the rain pelting the water of the ocean as the wind created even bigger waves that crashed onto the beach. 

Stiles' anger slowly faded as he swam alongside Danny, his mind trailing back to that lady. Why would she want him as a son? He had a mother already. 

"Everything's going to be okay, Right?" Stiles asked as he turned his head slightly to look over at Danny. He swallowed hard as he waited for an answer. It never came though. 

"Stiles, Watch out!" Danny shrieked, having come to a stop as Stiles slammed into the group of rocks where they had first met. 

Stiles winced, squeezing his eyes shut tightly, reaching up to caress his own head. He bit his lip, whimpering as his head began to throb. 

"Prince, Are you okay? Are you bleeding?" Danny asked, looking over Stiles' injury. There was indeed blood. The red liquid slowly flowing through the water. 

"Am I bleeding?" Stiles asked, panicked. 

"Just a little..but you'll be alright. I promise." Danny bit his lower lip as they set off towards the shore again. 

By the time Danny tugged Stiles up on the shore, he had already passed out. Half of Danny was in the water (His tail) and half of him was on shore. He forced himself to sit up, wobbling slightly. He scooted back onto the shore, grabbing Stiles' by the forearms, pulling him up on the shore. He struggled most of the time, but he made it work. The waves crashing onto the beach and threatening to drag the two back to the ocean. 

"Is that you, Mahealani?" Someone called from afar. He recognized that voice form anywhere. 

"King Stilinski? King Stilinski!" He yelled as he sat up, bent over Stiles, trying to aid to his wound. Stiles' tail was still there. Why hadn't his tail vanished yet? His legs should be here by now!

"Mahealani, What happened? Stiles? What happened to Stiles?" Stiles father questioned wildly, rushing over. He held his flashlight in his mouth between his teeth as he knelt down, pulling Stiles up onto his lap. Stiles' head dropped back as his arm dangled loosely at his side, his other resting across his stomach at an angle, The boys lips slightly parted. 

"The witch came demanding an exchange..I don't know what about. Queen Claudia was acting strange. Then she yelled at her that she couldn't have her son. And--And the guards came. And Queen Claudia slapped her--And we fled. Then the octopi came and--" Danny stuttered, trying to explain. 

"It's alright, Danny. I'll find out later. What happened to Stiles? Is he alright" He questioned, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around his boy. 

"He hit his head on the rocks a-and he's bleeding. Not too bad though," He shook his head, panting slightly. 

"He's bleeding?" John's eyes widened. 

"Yeah--My mom, the queen--I have to get back. I'm so sorry." Danny apologized, looking up at John. 

"It's alright, Bud. You did what you can." John nodded as he watched Danny drag himself back to the ocean. 

John stood, taking the flashlight back into his mouth. He rushed back to the road, laying Stiles in the backseat of the cop car. He shut the door then climbed into the drivers seat, starting up the car. He then began on getting home. Muttering a few curses under his breath, He sped up. He was probably going about 15 mph above the speed limit. But literally nobody was out because of the storm, So they were safe. 

"Hold on, Stiles..You're going to be just fine." He sighed, biting his bottom lip nervously. The only reason he had come to the beach was to make sure that nobody was stranded like the two boys. Especially when they had tails. He imagined that it was pretty hard to drag yourself onto the beach and back out to the ocean like that. He woke up with this feeling in his gut. He just knew that something was wrong with his family. 

Once they arrived back at the house, John picked Stiles up, shutting the door with his foot. He hurried into the house, making his way into the bathroom. He set him in the bathtub, turning on the water. Not too cold and not too warm. A little cold though. That was how Stiles usually bathed when he was stuck with his tail for awhile. Which wasn't quite often. 

Then, John got out the first aid kit. He got out the bandage and then set that aside. He then got out some cotton balls and some peroxide. He got the cotton balls damp with peroxide and dabbed it on the cut on Stiles' head making him wince, his tail fin twitching slightly.

"Sorry, Bud. Need you to survive this, So.." He sighed, letting that set for a moment before bandaging up his head. The wound was just above Stiles' forehead, making it slightly harder to wrap. But he did it. The wrapping wasn't perfect, but eh..it would work. It would have to. It's not like John could take him to a normal doctor while he's in this state right now! Nobody was going to experiment on his boy.

"Ow.." Stiles groaned after what seemed like an hour. He shifted in the tub, slowly sitting up. He rubbed his eyes, looking around. He was in the bathtub..alright. He didn't remember being here. And he had his tail..

"Dad! Dad!" Stiles suddenly shouted, looking to his side. He didn't realize his dad was leaning back against the wall next to the tub asleep.

John shot up, looking around before his eyes landed on Stiles. 

"Are you alright, Stiles?" He asked worriedly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

"Dad, Where's mom? Is she alright? Please tell me she's going to be alright, Dad." His bottom lip quivered as he stared at his father in a pleading manner. 

"Stiles, She's back in Azure..I-I'm not sure. I'm not going to lie, Bud..But I'm sure she's alright. She's tough enough where she can handle herself." He sighed, furrowing his brows. He narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer to Stiles.

"Stiles.."

"What, Dad? What? Why are you staring at me like that?" He asked, furrowing his brows as well. Even though that tiniest movement hurt his head. 

"Stiles..when did your eyes turn green?" He questioned, frowning. 

"What?" Stiles tilted his head slightly. 

"Son, Your eyes are green." John grabbed the mini mirror next to him, handing it to Stiles. 

"Wha..?" There wasn't even a single streak of light brown in them. 

John stood to go get Stiles a towel. He heard the splashing of the water and figured that Stiles changed back. He grabbed a towel and headed back into the bathroom and he did. John helped him out of the tub, helping him dry off, leaving his hair be. He used the hair dryer for that.

He didn't even bother to ask what had happened to his eyes. But then something else caught his interest. Those biggish hicky looking bruises covering Stiles' chest and forearms. And there was a few on his face too.

"Are those hickeys? Stiles, What happened down there? I need you to explain to me." He sighed as he led Stiles out of the bathroom after getting him some clothes as well. He led him down to the kitchen, fixing him something to eat. As he expected, Stiles didn't eat much. Considering what must have happened down there, John didn't blame him.

It took Stiles a moment before he actually explained everything to his father. Of what he knew anyway. He didn't understand. 

John ended up cuddling Stiles on the couch, explaining everything to Stiles. After this, he didn't want Stiles back in the water for awhile. Maybe a few months. Living down there in Azuretopia was getting quite dangerous since Claudia took the throne. And John missed having Stiles home with him. He wanted more bonding time with his son. That was his only child. He spent more time in the ocean than with his own father..he was jealous.

When Stiles woke up the next morning, his eyes had turned back to their normal color. Honey brown. And the bruises have almost disappeared fully. John sent him to school and took the day off of work. He made his way down to the beach, looking around. It didn't look too bad. Nothing was broken or wrecked. He slipped his jacket off and kicked his shoes off, taking off his socks as well. He needed to talk to Claudia. This had gotten out of hand. He did not sign up to let his son be a merman and get bruised up. 

Claudia was there waiting, sitting on top of the rocks. She wasn't noticeable. Well..not too noticeable anyways. John crawled up onto the rocks, trying to catch his breath as he settled himself down on the rocks. Man, he was getting old. 

"Claudia..We need to talk." He sighed, looking at her. He only got a nod in response. 

"Yes. I know, John. I do think it's best if Stiles stays away from the water for a little while." She let out a sigh, fiddling with something in her hands. 

"You do? I wouldn't want to keep Stiles away from you, Dear. And you know that." He placed his hands in his lap. 

"Yes, John. I do. I know that you wouldn't. But he had gotten injured hadn't he?" She looked down at her hands with a sad expression.

"But..he won't understand. He'll probably think that I'm trying to keep him away from you. From Danny. From the whole city.."

"That is why I brought a potion. Mix it in a drink of his..and say a chant." Claudia handed John the small clear glass bottle filled with what looked like water. 

"A small dose like this? And a chant?" Her husband questioned. 

"Usually powerful things come in small packages. Yes. A chant. For this..it would be in Portuguese. So you would say 'esquecer'. At least three times to be sure." She said in a gentle voice. 

"Esquecer? What does that mean?" He asked, examining the bottle again. 

"Forget." Claudia answered, playing with her fingers in her lap. She wasn't happy with this. But Stiles was in danger every corner he turned when he was down in Azuretopia. Claudia couldn't take it. 

"This potion is to make him forget? About you?" John asked. He wasn't too sure about this. He didn't want Stiles to forget about his own mother. 

"Well..yes and no. When he needs me most, he will remember. Everything about me. His inheritance and about Azuretopia. Remember, pour all of it in his drink. And chant 'esquecer'." She nodded.

"I have to go soon, The guards will notice that I am gone." She turned gave John a peck on the lips.

"I love you." He said with a small smile.

"I love you too, John." With that she slipped off of the rocks and dived into the water.

John sighed, rubbing his hands over his face before he headed back to the beach. He tucked the potion away into his pocket, sure not to crack it. He looked around to make sure that nobody was around to have heard or seen that. No one..or so he thought. 

The dark haired boy poked his head out of the water, watching sadly as John swam back to shore. Stiles would forget him? He couldn't have that. He couldn't let that happen. He had to speak with the queen. 

Danny disappeared back into the water, swimming after his queen. 

John then gathered his belongings, slipping his socks and shoes back on and grabbing his jacket before he headed back to the house where he dried off and got changed. He swallowed, sitting down at the kitchen table. Only a few more hours before Stiles would be home. 

After drinking a beer or two, John began making dinner. He made Stiles' favorite lemonade and cracked a small smile, hiccuping afterwards. He wasn't that drunk. He cooked dinner without burning the house down..that was a plus. 

When Stiles first stepped foot off of the school bus, He smelt the faint stench of beer. Another power that they possess. Their sense of smell heightens He frowned deeply, his grip on his backpack strap tightening as he walked towards the house. He opened the door, the smell getting stronger. He scrunched up his nose, looking around before he peaked into the kitchen. 

"Dad?" He called, finally spotting him infront of the counters, his back to Stiles. He was pouring something into an already full glass, causing it to spill over a little. As a reaction, his father leaned down to take a sip of it to stop it form over flowing again. After that he whispered something about four times. 

'Esquecer?' Stiles thought, confused. 

"Dad?" He called again. 

"Huh? Oh--Hey, Bud. When did you get home?" He hiccuped in between his sentences, turning around and leaning back against the counter to keep his balance, the liquid in the cup swooshing around with every small jerk of the mans arm.

"I just got home..Are you alright, Dad? Are you drunk again?" He furrowed his brows, taking the cup when it was handed to him. He examined it to make sure it wasn't beer. It didn't smell like it. When he found out that it was strawberry lemonade, he took a huge gulp. Or three. This causing John to grin lazily. 

"Of course I'm not drunk, Son. W-why would I be drunk?" He chuckled, letting his head loll back as he tried to stand up, stumbling slightly. 

Stiles set the cup aside as he pursed his lips. He was definitely drunk. He helped his dad sit down at the table and get situated there.

"Hey-Hey, Bud? Made you some..dinner over there." He pointed to the counter, but the plate full of food was on the table infront of him.

"Oh..alright." Stiles shrugged, hesitantly sitting down at the table after dropping his backpack down on the floor next to him. He looked down at the food and made a face. It didn't even look like food. 

"What's wrong? You ain't goin' to eat it?" John slurred as he slammed his fist down on the table causing Stiles to flinch. 

"Made that just for you..and you're not even gonna eat it? Spoiled little shit you are..I bet your mother gave you e-everything down there, Didn't she? If you don't want to live here then just say so!" He snorted, pushing himself away from the table, standing up.

Stiles thought that that escalated way too quickly. He bit his lip, looking down at his lap. He had only experienced his dad drunk when he woke up late at night and came downstairs for a glass of water. He would find his dad sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a couple of beers. John would always throw some comment at him about how he was always staying up too late. He had just gotten back from a shift and was stressed. So, like always, he pulled out a few beers and chugged them down. Stiles would just give him a hug if he was able to and mumbled an 'I love you' even though most of the time he didn't get one back before he headed back upstairs into his room. 

Stiles went to bed without dinner that night. He crawled into bed right after he ate his snickers bar that he kept under his bed with the rest of his stash of candy in an old backpack of his. He had that backpack since preschool. And he decided to put it to good use. And then the candy stash idea popped into his head. 

The next morning, The brunette shot up in his bed, cheeks damp with dried tears, his heart hammering in his chest. He wiped at his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. That dream again..

"Stiles! Are you alright?" The door slammed open, startling Stiles even more. But that was his dads voice..so he was alright. 

"I'm..'M fine, Dad..It's nothing." He sighed, sitting criss cross now. 

"Did you have that dream again, Stiles?" John sighed, sitting down on the bed next to his son. He didn't know why his head was killing him.

"Yeah..I can't believe that it's been a year since mom died..I just.." He sniffled, looking up at his dad. He always had that dream. It was like his imagination had just shut down and let his worst fear come back, replaying in his head. 

Claudia had cancer for awhile now..Stiles was there when it happened. But John wasn't. Because he didn't want to grasp onto reality. He didn't want to believe. Stiles didn't blame him. But he wasn't there when he needed him most. He was out getting drunk again. A nurse had sat next to him in the waiting room, comforting him the whole night. 

"Well, Stiles..you have to get dressed for your first day of school in Beacon Hills.." John stood, gathering his son's clothes for him. 

Stiles sighed, a grin replacing his frown. He nodded and got dressed. 

"Alright, Mr. Sheriff." He teased as he jogged down the steps and into the kitchen. He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table and grabbed his backpack. 

"Haha..Alright. Let's go, Stiles." John chuckled as he slipped his arm around Stiles' shoulders, tugging him along. He walked him to the car and prepared for a new day in a new town.  
......

"Wait..So..Everything I know..is and was a lie?" The young prince questioned as he climbed back into the jeep with his long lost best friend. (>.>)

"Well..Yes. Basically." Danny looked over to Stiles as he slipped his shirt shirt back on, shaking his head vigorously to get the water out of his hair. 

"How come my dad hasn't ever said anything about this?" Stiles asked, sudden anger bubbling up inside of him. 

"He drunk the potion too. He wasn't in his right mind to remember what he had done." Danny explained, climbing back into the drivers seat of Stiles' jeep. 

"So..This is some Princess Ariel shit going on?" Stiles furrowed his brows as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

"I guess so. Your story is a little different from hers." Danny grinned. 

"You're Melody." Danny added with a snicker. 

"In a way, I suppose." Stiles smiled as he looked at Danny.

"Well..You need your rest. It is getting pretty late. And if you want, I could come pick you up for school tomorrow. I'll explain more to you then." Danny put the car in reverse to turn around. He then put it in drive and began off towards Stiles house.

"That won't be necessary, Danny. You're spending the night with me. It could be like a sleep over." Stiles grinned, trying on a new accent and tone. He didn't like it. But it was fun to play around with. 

"Ah..As you wish, Prince Genim. Anything for you, You're royal Highness." Danny chuckled, nodding.

"You know my name..And you pronounced it right." Stiles' eyes widened as he stared at the older boy.

"Of course I do, Stiles!" Danny furrowed his brows, scrunching up his nose. He laughed so hard at the face Stiles made that he almost wrecked.

"Eyes on the road..and how did you get here..to Beacon Hills if you were all the way in Sunnydale? And with a tail?" Stiles asked.

"You never did figure out that I'm basically your guard. I had a discussion with the Queen when I first found out about their little plan that ended up backfiring because of the Kings drinking problem. She told me that I was told to protect you and that she wouldn't change that. My mother even gave her permission to give us legs so that we can keep a close eye on you. And when we found out that you moved; We followed. And I couldn't really get close to you or talk to you because you were always with that group of people that you called your 'friends'. So, I always sat with Jackson and a few other people.." Danny explained with a small sigh. But he smiled anyway. 

Stiles mind was being blown as he was being explained to about everything really. He asked so many questions that night that Danny actually got dizzy from how fast Stiles was asking them. Stiles stayed up most of the night with Danny to listen to him as he told stories about their underwater adventures when they were younger. It all fascinated Stiles. And the fact that his mother was still alive and that he would get to see her sometime just added to the excitement. 

" 'Nim, It's two in the morning..we have about four and a half hours before we have to get to school." Danny yawned as he looked over to Stiles who was curled up on the couch in a blanket. They were watching 'Aquamarine'. Danny loved that movie. And it was Stiles' new favorite. Next to Who Framed Rodger Rabbit. 

"Mm..Alright." He mumbled, shifting slightly. He was on the verge of falling asleep soon anyway. He let his eyes flutter shut as he got comfortable. 

"Night." Danny turned so that he was facing the couch. He tugged some of the blanket his way so that half of his body was covered. He smiled to himself as he let his eyes close. He soon drifted off to the faint sound of Stiles' steady breathing and to the sound of the movie playing in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And if any of you are wondering: Claudia was around twenty seven in in the little flashback. She was around sixteen when she traded her tail for legs. And sorry if there are any grammar mistakes. I have a project due tomorrow and I haven't even started because I took the time to write this chapter cx Also, tags will be added throughout the story. Bye~


	4. Chapter 4

"Stiles, Let's go! We're going to be late!" Danny huffed as the other teen pulled into an empty parking space infront of Five Star. 

They had woken up about an hour before school started. Danny was ready in an instant--dressed in his clothes he had on yesterday. Just in case though, he used Stiles Old Spice cologne. 

Then there was Stiles. It took him for fucking ever to choose an outfit. And don't even get Danny started on the boy's hair. You'd think that fixing up that shortish quiff Stiles had would be easy? It took him twenty minutes. Danny tried not to nag him about anything. Because Stiles was not a morning person. He even threatened to rip off Danny's balls if he didn't stop nagging him about hurrying up. In the end, thy had about twenty five minutes left. 

Thy were now at Five Star because Stiles wanted--No needed his hershey chocolate hot cocoa. It was like his morning coffee. The cocoa was so packed with sugar that it woke him up within the first few sips. 

"Danny, If you don't shut your mouth I will rip out your tongue. We won't be late." Stiles glared at him as he got out of the jeep. 

Danny only huffed, slumping back in his seat as he watched Stiles walk into the market with a little strut that he never noticed Stiles had before. 

"Fucking hell.." Stiles muttered to himself as he got himself a 20 oz foam cup and poured himself the cocoa. He put the top on the cup and began walking passed the canned food aisle. Stiles then froze in his tracks and sniffed the air before taking a few steps backwards so that he was in front of the aisle. His gut began to twist. He hadn't eaten this morning. And something had caught his attention. Something in that aisle was smelling pretty good. Not the type of smell that Stiles would usually categorize as delicious, but it was enough to make his mouth water. Whatever it was it smelled..bitter? Nothing sweet about the smell at all. But Stiles just guessed that he was in the mood for something bitter. Not sour..but bitter. His smelling senses must have been heightened or something because he had never been able to pick up something like that before.  
Stiles soon found himself standing in front of the canned sardines.He was sure that he was drooling on himself. He had a dreamy look going on there as well. As soon as he realized what he was drooling over, He muttered a few words to himself.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Stiles asked himself, earning a few looks from people. I mean--Sure he has had a few strange cravings before, but ew, sardines..really?  
He hesitated for a moment before he took a can. He made sure that he stopped to get him some of that water too. His craving for it had died down some since yesterday. He was doing way better. He didn't feel so weak--and was looking quite nice may he add himself. He paid for all three of the items before heading back out to the jeep.  
As soon as Stiles got into the jeep he took a sip of the cocoa then put the cup in the cup holder. He took the sardines out of the small grocery bag and examined the can carefully before he opened it up.

"Dude, you were in there for forever. What were you--Are those..you bought sardines? You're serious?" Danny started then focused on his attention on the small fish that Stiles now held with is index finger and thumb. 

"Quick question. Before I eat this, would that make a cannibal?" The brunette asked as he sniffed at the sardine, eyes focused on it in curiosity.

"Uhm..No." Danny shook his head slowly as he watched him closely.  
Stiles let out a happy hum before he tilted his head back and dropped the sardine into his mouth. He let out a delighted moan as he chewed the thing whole. Sardines were indeed bitter, but tasty.

Danny shuddered as he heard the quiet snapping of bones.

"Oh my god, D. These taste like heaven." Stiles moaned as he swallowed a second sardine. 

"You're eating them whole? The eyes too!" Danny exclaimed as he continued to watch. He wasn't disgusted, but..ew. And the smell too! It made his stomach churn. 

Stiles had ended up buying another can of sardines before they finally left for school. They weren't exactly late for school. There was a minute until the bell rang, signalling that school had just began. 

...

Time seemed to pass by pretty quickly for Stiles. He was so excited to go back in the lake, get some more answers. He was just in a happy mood today. Well, after he chugged down the cocoa and finished off the sardines. The only things that brought his mood down were the stares he was receiving from the pack. They just stared. And stared. But they didn't have the balls to come and talk to him. Except for Jackson that was. 

It was lunch time and Stiles was on the far side of the cafeteria with Danny, sitting in the corner with him. He laughed every now and then whenever Danny cracked a joke. He popped a grape into his mouth and chewed happily as he watched Danny play a game on his phone. Apparently it was too hard and Danny had to put his phone away or else he would throw it against the wall. Stiles thought that it was pretty easy. Getting a bird through a small passage just by tapping on the screen. But oh how he was wrong. 

"Fuck this Flappy bitch." Stiles hissed as he slammed the phone down on the table. His bottom lip stuck out in a small pout as he breathed heavily, apologizing to Danny after his little rant about how that game 'Flappy Bird' was so annoying and stupid. 

He snapped out of it when he heard some one snicker. Thus causing both of the boys to look up to see who was laughing at him. 

"Jackson." Stiles began, blinking. He frowned deeply, watching as the other teen smirked. 

"Stilinski." He nodded, eyes never leaving him. 

"Shouldn't you be over there with your pack and half assed alpha?" Stiles crossed his arms over his chest as he glanced over at the table. Ah..Allison was back. That's cool. Way cool. She was snuggled up into Scott's side, his arm wrapped protectively around her. 

Jackson flinched as he heard the hateful tone in Stiles voice. He shook his head slightly and fidgeted some, shyly looking down at the floor before back up at Stiles as if he were waiting. That was when he had realized that Jackson was carrying a tray of food. His tray of food. 

"You're not sitting with them?" Danny asked with a cocked eyebrow. 

"I think it's stupid." Jackson blurted out, still standing. He bit his lip and glanced over at Danny then back to Stiles. 

"What's stupid?" Danny asked, not fully aware of what was going on. 

"What Scott did. He blamed Stiles for Allison's injury. I don't think it's your fault, Stiles." Jackson mumbled, answering Danny then turning back to Stiles. 

Stiles felt his heart melt. That was literally the first time that Jackson had ever called him by his name. He grinned at him, offering him to sit down. Which he gladly did. 

"Awe," Stiles began and sat up straight, his expression softening as he looked at Jackson. He offered him his apple which he knew that Jackson loved. He happily took it. 

"You're adorable when you're not being an ass." Stiles cooed as he flashed Jackson a heart warming smile. And oh my god--If Jackson just wasn't the cutest thing right now. Stiles could practically see his tail wagging as his eyes twinkled with happiness. Obviously Danny could see this too because he grinned, jumping in on the cooing. 

"But..Scott..And Lydia! What are you doing over here though? Won't Scott be mad at you? And Lydia!" Stiles babbled on as he saw the twinkle in Jackson's eyes fade. 

"Scott cut off the ties between us. Between me and the..guys. And Lydia wasn't backing me up when I was telling him off about how I thought that it wasn't your fault that she was injured. She didn't even look at me when I asked her for back up." Jackson mumbled and avoided saying the word 'pack' because he wasn't sure if Danny knew about all of the werewolf jizz. But he was sure that he didn't because he hadn't told him a thing about it. 

Stiles frowned deeply, his right eyebrow twitching in irritation as he listened to Jackson. Scott had no right! Some alpha he was being. A true alpha would never act so childish--But Stiles didn't question him on being an alpha. And Lydia. Oh, Stiles was so agitated and upset with her. She was Jackson's mate. She was suppose to stick up for him. Whether he asked for backup or not. But she turned her head and acted as if Jackson didn't even exist! 

"So, basically he kicked you out of the pack?" Danny questioned, his eyebrows knitted together as he tried to process all of this. He wasn't stupid. Of course he knew about werewolves and other creatures. He was a merman for god's sake!

Jackson was a little taken back by this. He slowly and hesitantly nodded, hands clasped together as they were placed in his lap. He let out a small sigh as he looked back up at the two. 

"Well something has his panties in a twist lately." Stiles growled, teeth grinding together as he gripped the plastic fork in his hand that he was using to eat his salad. It broke easily and a part of the fork went flying across the cafeteria. Not that Stiles cared anyway. It didn't hit anyone. 

Jackson forced back a small whine that was threatening to escape the back of his throat as he felt the atmosphere change as Stiles grew angrier by the second. He was trying so hard to shrink down in his seat, but it just wasn't happening. 

"Dude." Danny stared hard at Stiles as he bit his bottom lip nervously. Stiles having no idea what he was doing didn't happen to notice how rain began to pelt the windows with force. Dark clouds rolling in out of nowhere. It had everyone talking about the sudden weather change. 

"Stiles." Jackson mumbled, trying to get his attention. He didn't understand what was going on. It started storming when Stiles had lost his temper. He kind of got the idea that Stiles had something to do with this. 

"He can't treat my pup that way." Stiles' focus rested over on ol' Scott McCall. He narrowed his eyes at him, little hot puffs of air leaving Stiles' mouth every second. Not too loud, but damn you could tell Stiles was pissed. He had always treated the pack with love and all of that sweet sugary kindness that he could possible possess and this is how they repay him? Were they fucking serious? It was clear that Stiles was kicked out of the pack and now Jackson too? Well, fuck. They were all going to have hell to pay if Stiles had anything to do with them. 

Jackson and Danny were quite shocked at this side of Stiles, having never seen him blow his top before. Jackson was also surprised that Stiles called him his 'pup'. And the fact that the Stilinski was sticking up for him was the coolest thing ever to him. He felt warm and fuzzy all over. But the vibe that Stiles was giving off was bone chilling.

"It feels like death in here." Danny finally speaks up as small sized hail begins to tap against the school windows. He picks at his salad before taking a mouth full of it into his mouth. He said this so calm though. It had Jackson off a little bit.

"It smells like death." Jackson mumbled, shuddering as he dared to turn around. He felt multiple pairs of eyes on him. The tension in the air was thick and the anger Stiles held was rolling off of him in waves. It wasn't helping.  
He turned to see that Scott was glaring daggers at him, Isaac was just looking apologetic as he stared at Jackson, then there was Lydia. She was just staring at Stiles. She didn't look apologetic..or angry. Or even sad. She was shocked. She was schocked that Jackson chose that goofball over her and the pack. How could he even be serious? It made Jackson growl.

"Today's just full of emotions." Danny mumbled with a mouth full as he shook his head with a small shrug. 

"They fucked with Mama Stilinski on the wrong day." Danny snickered as the bell rung, signalling that it was time for 6th period. People were literally trampling over eachother to throw their food away and to stack up their trays so that the lunch ladies could wash them just to get to their next class. They just felt so uneasy in the room..they wanted to leave so bad. And Danny didn't blame them. Alot of worse shit happened when Stiles was younger. He would get so mad that storms would just pop up out of nowhere and he'd throw out these strings of chants and shit would go down. He was literally feared by most of the children back in Azuretopia it wasn't even funny. Danny was only amused by this. Those snot nosed brats brought it upon their selves. And when the two were asked what had happened, Danny never gave Stiles up. It was their little secret that Stiles knew magic without actually knowing it. (Or practicing it.)  
Stiles was so done with everyone's shit.

"Damn straight." Stiles shot up from the table with a snort as he grabbed his tray. He walked in the direction of Scott's table and gave him his best smile. All pearly whites. He pretended to trip, giving him an excuse to fling his tray forward. Thus hitting Lydia. His chocolate milk and jello splattering all over her new flowery dress. His salad spilling all over her as well. Croutons stuck in her hair. She shrieked.  
Scott growled in response to this, glaring at Stiles. Isaac shooting up from his seat and snapping at the brunette as well. Allison only went over to Lydia, seeking to her aid.

"Oops..Sorry, Lyds. I guess I tripped over my own feet. My bad." Stiles hummed, his cheeks a rosy red as he flashed her a smile. She only scowled, picking the croutons out of her hair. He then turned to the two boys, his smile fading and turning into a thin line. Anger bubbling up in him again.

"Don't fuck with me, McCall. I'm not the person you want to mess with right now. So stop acting like a bitch and step up to the plate and be an alpha. I'm done with being your sidekick. All I've done was break my back to make sure that you guys had everything and had all of the research you needed. And what? Oh yeah--You kicked me out of the pack. Because of some little mishap. I was not going to take the chance and take the blow for her. Hell no. If you don't remember, Allison is the one who betrayed you and tried to kill you. And if you're just too much of a dumbass to see that your being a bad example of an alpha right now then fuck it. Because I don't care anymore. So go fuck yourself." Stiles spat, arms crossed over his chest. He felt so much better after getting that out. Because he had been wanting to tell Scott off for so long now. That boy had no idea that he was being a shit of an alpha. He wasn't much of a good example. And he needed to be put in his place.

Scott only stared at Stiles in pure shock. He even looked a bit hurt as Stiles snapped at him. He watched as Stiles left the cafeteria and swallowed hard. As soon as Stiles left, He whipped his head around towards the rest of his pack and let his facial expression harden as if nothing ever happened. He adjusted his collar and told Allison to go and get Lydia cleaned up. He then turned and began stalking out after Stiles and his little group. Isaac following close in pursuit.  
The hail had stopped and eventually the rain too. Stiles left the lunch room with his head held high, Jackson and Danny following close behind.

The halls were packed with students who were hurrying to get to their next classes. Danny almost tripped over multiple people as he fought to keep up with Stiles, Jackson having no problem with this because he literally shoved everyone out of the way who even took one step in front of him while he was walking. Stiles had no problem making his way through the sea of students for some reason. He didn't have to shove anyone out of the way since people figured that right now probably wasn't the best time to mess with him because he looked like he was ready to kill. Didn't know what, but was ready. 

The hail and raining soon cleared up after Stiles had left the cafeteria. The boy hadn't even noticed that their was a storm. More or less that it started when he chopped Scott's head off back there. He was feeling so accomplished right now that he was thinking about doing some type of gymnastics move like a cartwheel or something, but he didn't want to break his neck so he didn't even try. 

"What was that?" Jackson asked as he followed Stiles, letting him lead since he didn't know exactly where they were headed.

"What was what? Me being awesome and taking up for you or are you mad because I dumped my lunch all over your girlfriend? She said she was on a no carb diet. So I thought that maybe she would appreciate the salad." Stiles smiled as he turned a corner. He was just feeling so happy now.

Danny couldn't stifle his giggle this time. 

"No--I mean yeah--No! Um..the taking up for me part. And you just told off Scott. Holy fuck he's going to destroy me." Jackson stuttered then gaped at the floor as he let everything process. 

"I don't know. I've been meaning to tell Scott off for a long time now. I mean, He's being a shit alpha and nobody's told him off yet. I know he's the alpha, but still. Somebody had to do it and I'm pretty sure that nobody else was going to." Stiles huffed with a shrug as he stopped at his locker to get his backpack. The halls were now cleared. 

"Oh.." Jackson glanced down at the floor. That made total sense. Jackson had only backed Stiles up on the Allison incident. But he might as well have challenged his Alpha. But..he wasn't apart of Scott's pack anymore. This making Jackson grin, He let out a pleased hum. 

"Hey--So we're ditching? Where are we going?" Jackson then stammered as he shifted awkwardly. He watched Stiles grab his backpack and his history book before shutting his locker. 

"Huh? Well..I guess so. Yeah. Where are we going? Um.." Stiles slung his backpack over his shoulder as he glanced over at Danny, pursing his lips. He puffed out his cheeks as he thought for a moment. He wasn't so sure about telling anyone about the merman business going on here. He knew he could trust Jackson, but he just wanted to learn more about this before actually telling anyone. Stiles didn't even know if that made sense. 

"We're just gonna head back to Stiles' place. Let him cool off. Just chill. Y'know?" Danny offered as he walked across the hall to his locker where he began gathering his things. He could tell by the look on Stiles' face that he didn't want to tell about the lake and all of that awesome stuff. 

"Yeah--yeah! I understand. Can I come with? I mean If you don't--" Jackson ran a hand through his hair. 

"Jax, Shut up. Of course you can come." Stiles chuckled as he watched Jackson flail a bit. He was never this awkward with him. Especially since it's Jackson Whittemore we're talking about here. 

This made Jackson beam, his eyes holding that same twinkle from before. He gave another hum as he turned on his heel, glancing back at Stiles. 

"Let me go get my stuff and then we can leave." Jackson insisted as he literally took off jogging down the hall and around the corner. 

"I never knew Jackson was so fond of you." Danny mused as he watched him disappear around the corner. It was quite cute actually. 

"I guess I never really paid much attention to that side of Jackson before. Since he was always a dick to me." Stiles shrugged. 

"That's cute though. I swear I heard him yip. And saw his tail wag." Danny laughed softly as he pointed down the empty hall where Jackson once was. 

Stiles grinned as he rocked back and forth on his heels. He was giving off this bubbly and happy feeling. Danny was quite surprised with this. One minute Stiles was all peachy then the next he's trying to rip off a certain McCall's head then he's back to being peachy again. It had Danny thinking. 

"You're just like your mom." Danny suddenly burst out. He met Stiles gaze and nodded. 

"What?"

"You're just like you're mom. When someone messed with her baby she made sure that they had hell to pay the instant she found out. And you flipped your shit as soon as you found out that Jackson was kicked out of the pack and Lydia didn't defend him." Danny smiled as he explained this to Stiles. He didn't get a reply.

"You're protective of your cubs." Danny then commented, cooing. He earned a punch to the shoulder in response.

"I know." Stiles grinned. He had never referred the guys as his 'cubs', but he could get use to that. He did have the urge to constantly protect his pack..or ex-pack. Like this motherly instinct to provide for them and just help them in any kind of way he could. That was why he did all of the research and provided comfort for whoever was having a problem really. His arms were open to everyone in the pack. Even Allison. And he made brownies almost every pack meeting. 

They had continued this conversation with ease until they heard a whimper echoing throughout the halls. It hadn't occurred to Stiles that Jackson had been gone for about fifteen minutes now. He should have been back in eight tops. His locker wasn't that far away. 

"Did you hear that?" Danny questioned quietly as he looked at Stiles, uncertainly. 

Stiles met Danny's eyes and tensed up slightly. There was another whimper and a clang of something hitting metal. Stiles instantly dropped his backpack as soon as he heard the second whimper and took off down the hall in a full on sprint. He skidded around the corner and his expression hardened as he heard the whimpers and whines get louder. That was definitely Jackson. 

"Are you fucking serious Jackson? You chose Stiles over your own alpha? Why would you do something so stupid, Jackson?" Scott asked in disbelief as he watched Isaac shove him into the lockers with such force that Jackson actually fell after his back collided with the cold hard metal of the lockers. 

Isaac looked unsure about this whole situation, looking apologetically at Jackson as he stood in front of him. He bit his bottom lip as he listened to Scott go on about how stupid Jackson was to back someone up who was not him. 

"Why did I back Stiles up? Because none of that was Stiles' fault. He didn't jump in and push her out of the way so that he could take the blow for her. No. He called out to her! Warned her." Jackson spat back as he steadily got back up on his feet. 

"Too late obviously! He should have done something to prevent it from happening, Jackson. You don't understand. Jax, You're doing it again. Don't go against you're alpha." Scott growled, eyes flashing red as his fists balled at his sides. 

Jackson snorted.

"I don't understand? I don't understand? Are you fucking serious right now? What is there to understand, Scott? Stiles tried to do something. May not have been very effective, but he tried. He called out to her just in time so that she could jump. She didn't fully dodge the attack, but the beta only sunk his teeth into her hip. And it got all of your attention. You were there in a matter of seconds, throwing him off of her and across the other side of the river. If he hadn't called out to her, Allison would probably be dead by now." Jackson's eyes glowed blue as he took a step forward, daring to invade Scott's space. Oh how he wished he didn't pick this moment to grow some balls, but he wasn't going to sit here and let Scott dump on him like that. He was so done with his ass right now. He didn't even let him speak. 

"Don't go against your alpha? As far as I'm concerned, You cut off all connection with me back there in the lunch room when I stood up for Stiles. And you know what? I don't give a flying shit either! So go and fuck off!" Jackson growled. And--wow he just realized that he's about an inch shorter than Scott and this was really intimidating, but he stood his ground. 

Scott didn't even have time to piece all of this together before his beta was trying to attack Jackson because he was all up in Scott's face. And it wasn't because he was his alpha either. 

Isaac grabbed Jackson by the collar, slamming him into the lockers. He growled, pressing up against him to keep him pinned against the lockers as he drew his fist back, ready to pumble the teen.

"Gettin' a little possessive there aren't we, Lahey?" The Hawaiian came crashing into Isaac, tackling him to the floor. Danny gripped his wrists, trying to pin them above his head as he straddled his waist, teeth gritted in annoyance.

Isaac grunted as he was tackled to the floor. The wind having been knocked out of him, Isaac struggled to get Danny off of him so he could breathe. How much did this kid weigh?

Scott growled as he saw Isaac collide with the floor, Danny Mahealani the cause of this. He found his target and lunged forward. But before he could actually get ahold of Danny, He was on his back, his vision blurry. What the fuck?

"I told you not to fuck with me, McCall. But you didn't listen now did you?" Stiles spat as he leaned over him, disgust tracing over his face. He meant business when it came to his pup. Oh--Did he really just say that?

"Stiles..." Scott starts softly then growls, claws popping out. 

"What the fuck are you?" Isaac grunts as he manages to flip Danny over so that Isaac's the one on top. But that doesn't last for long and when he goes to punch the tanned skin boy he ends up in a headlock. 

Jackson is up and tackling Scott back to the ground after he jumps back up: ready to attack. Before any actual real damage is done a teacher has walked outside to see who or what was crating all of that noise. He didn't see how Scott was wolfed out, but all he saw was Stiles Stilinski tackling him to the ground as Jackson tried to keep him down as well. And may Jackson add that Stiles was doing a pretty good job of keeping Scott down. Where did he get this strength at?

"Off of him. Now! Whittemore, Stilinski! Up and off of that young man now! Danny Mahealani, You too! Get off of them!" The teacher yelled as he made his way over to Scott, Jackson, and Stiles first. From his point of view he saw that Stiles, Whittemore, and Danny were ganging up on the two boys. 

It took that same teacher and about eight other students (that just so happened to be male) to break up the three. And only two teachers for Isaac and Danny.

In the end no parents were called but Danny, Jackson, and Stiles were assigned three weeks worth of detention. Stiles had lashed out at a teacher when they pulled him off of Scott. No charges pressed. That was a plus. Jackson hovered over Scott, letting him calm down and change back before they were discovered. Danny let go of Isaac with no fuss, hands held up in a sign of innocence as if he had just been caught by the cops.

They now sat at three separate tables in the library. Nothing to do but stare at each other or their surroundings. The librarian had told them the rules and then proceeded to grunt about how she should be home by now. Stupid kids. 

"I should be at home with my husband by now. Can't believe that I'm stuck here watching over a couple of brats instead of home eating a good cooked meal with my family." She mumbled to herself as she began putting back the returned books. 

Danny silently mocked her as she walked to the other side of the room, tapping his fingers on the table in time with the 'tick tocks' of the clock. It seemed to get on the lady's nerves because she turned around and snapped at them. 

"No tapping of the feet and hands--or anything else!" She snapped before turning back to putting the books on shelves. 

She had the nerve.

It wasn't even thirty minutes into detention before she was called to assist the principal. The boys didn't question why just stayed silent as she warned them about moving and talking. Then she left. 

"Bitch." Danny scoffed when the doors shut behind her. 

As soon as the boys were sere that she was gone they met at the middle table. Stiles was still a little upset, Jackson was just sitting there then there was Danny. He was grinning. Like he had just won a medal in the Olympics. 

"Why're you guys acting so glum? We totally kicked ass." Danny declared as he leant back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. 

"What?" Jackson blinked. 

"We kicked ass. It's pretty obvious. Even though we didn't really get any kicks or punches in, We were the ones who came out on top." Danny explained as he flexed his muscles, chuckling after. 

"And got detention." Stiles snorted as he rested his head on his arms. 

"Sorry." Jackson murmured as he shifted in his chair next to Stiles. 

"For what?" Danny and Stiles asked in unison. 

"If it weren't for me, We wouldn't be here right now." He shrugged. He twiddles his thumbs as he sighs. 

"Jax, this was not your fault. It isn't your fault." He reassured. If it was anybody's fault, Stiles took the blame because if he hadn't told Scott off then none they wouldn't be sitting in the school's boring ass library right now. 

After a few minutes of arguing Jackson gave up on trying to convince the guys that it was his fault. 

"Stop apologizing." Stiles huffs as he plays with the short strands of Jackson's hair. 

"Sor--Fuck. I mean okay." Jackson drops his head down on the table as he lets out a small hum as Stiles runs his fingers through his hair. 

"So..are we still going to your house after we get out of here?" Danny chuckles as he watched the two. 

"You bet. My baby Call of Duty is waiting for me at home." Stiles grins. He had a total of four XBOX controllers at home so they could all play together. 

"Sweet." Jackson mumbles under his breath as his eyes flutter shut and he nuzzles up into Stiles' hand and he melts. Just melts. Danny shaking his head and chuckling as he glances out of the window and stills. Does a double take before focusing on the old oak tree. He squinted his eyes: searching for something. He swore that he saw someone out there standing next to the big oak tree out in the front staring straight at him. And if he was correct he was sure that the person was glaring with a pair of their own red eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Jackson lay on the floor with Stiles, curled around his legs. Basically laying ontop of them. He was letting out small snored, breath hitching every now and then. One of his arms were wrapped around Stiles' lower thigh. He was literally clinging to him. And Stiles let him. 

"He's like a koala bear..." Danny murmured as he watched Stiles scan through the channels on the guide menu on the T.V. He was sitting on the couch with a bowl of freshly made popcorn. 

"A cute koala bear. But koala bears are already adorable so.." Stiles combed his fingers through Jackson's hair with his free hand. His head propped up with multiple pillows. 

The boys had just gotten back from their first week of detention a few hours ago and decided to do something fun. John wasn't home as usual so they got out his old stereo and played music on full blast. It was a surprise that the neighbors didn't call the police and file a complaint on them. Then they baked chocolate cupcakes. Made a mess of the kitchen while doing so, but eventually cleaned that up when they put the cupcakes in the oven to bake. Then Stiles and Jackson had gotten into a fight over who got the last cupcake and they ended up wrestling for it. Stiles let Jackson win because he was awesome like that. Jackson was so hyped up on sugar (because he ate most of the cupcakes) that he got a sugar rush and was babbling like Stiles would. It only took a few minutes for him to black out after. He was laying next to Stiles' legs when he passed out. And that is how he ended up attaching himself to Stiles' legs. 

"You wanna watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl?" Stiles asked as he stumbled upon the Disney channel. That was really the only movie on right now. 

Danny gave an unamused scoff. 

"How do there be nothing on T.V.? There are like more channels than I can count out there and they have no good movies on right now?" Danny pursed his lips as he scrolled through his phone for the fiftieth time that evening. 

"I know right? I don't get it either. Hey..do you think that Jackson would be cool with the whole 'Merman' thing?" Stiles tilted his head back to look at Danny. 

"Hm? Well..I'm assuming. Since he's a werewolf I'm pretty sure that he'd be fine with it." Danny shrugged as he took a few selfies.

"But since we're like best buds now and if we were to go swimming in the lake again and Jackson came along..I wouldn't want him to feel left out because for one: I know he can't swim.." Stiles spoke as he dropped the remote and took the popcorn bowl that Danny handed him. 

"He would feel left out wouldn't he?" Danny mused as he dropped his phone for a second as he sat deep in thought.

 

They spent the rest of the afternoon just talking to each other and watching old shows from when they were ten. Jackson eventually woke up and freaked out when he realized that he wasn't at his house in his bedroom. But then calmed down when he heard the calming sound of Stiles' heartbeat. Danny ended up going home early because his mom needed help with dinner since his father had to work late at the office. 

"We never actually got to talk about that fight.." Jackson finally broke the silence and shifted on the couch slightly.

"Huh?" Stiles asked as he sat up to stretch.

"The fight. How the hell did you manage to knock Scott down like that? You literally body slammed him. And don't tell me that you didn't because I saw you do it with my own eyes." Jackson wet his lips as he watched Stiles, waiting for him to answer his question. Because unless Stiles had been secretly hiding the fact that he had Hulk powers than nothing about this situation made any sense to Jackson. 

"Um..Lucky hit?" Stiles chuckled nervously as he stood up, biting his bottom lip as he looked at Jackson. How was he suppose to explain this? 'Oh--Jax, Yeah. I forgot to tell you that I come from a family of mermaids and men and I inherited some of the traits from my mother who just so happens to be the queen of this underwater city called 'Azuretopia'. Y'know the ushe.' 

Stiles didn't exactly think that was going to work. 

"Really, Stiles? A lucky shot? To a human, hitting a werewolf isn't effective. And you knocked Scott McCall a.k.a Alpha of the McCall pack off of his feet. How do you explain that?" Jackson exclaimed as he got to his feet as well, pointing as if Scott was right next to them. 

"And your scent has changed too. It's..sweeter. I don't know--But you smell different. And you kind of freaked me out back there when we were in the cafeteria and you flipped your shit over Scott." Jackson lowered his voice to a murmur, hoping Stiles didn't hear the first bit. But he did.

Just in case, Stiles raised his arm and sniffed his armpits. He smelt nothing but Axe. That didn't smell sweet at all. But he always wondered what he smelt like to werewolves..Them and scents it was just weird.

"Thanks..I guess? How do I smell different? And what do you mean, Jax?" Stiles huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You smell..sweeter. Like honey or something. And your scent has gotten stronger. I'm sure any wolf would be able to smell you from a mile away. And when you got mad it just started storming. It was perfectly sunny too! It started raining hail. And.." Jackson trailed off. 

"You think I have something to do with it, Don't you?" Stiles asked as he narrowed his eyes at Jackson. 

"Um--I n-never said that. I'm sorry if I'm insulting you..I-I mean.." Jackson stammered as he tensed under Stiles' glare. It sent a chill down his spine. 

"But you did. But that's okay because I know you meant nothing by that." Stiles reasoned, his expression lightening as he saw that Jackson was uncomfortable under his gaze. He cracked a smile. 

"Ah..But did you have something to do with that storm though? And that Hulk strength too. I won't tell--" Jackson began.

"Jackson." Stiles simply cut him off with a whisper. 'Hulk strength?' He mused in his mind.

"Yeah?" 

"Why don't you go and head home for the night? It's getting pretty late. It's already dark and I don't want you getting into any trouble with your parents. We'll talk more about this tomorrow. I'll invite you over." Stiles insisted because honestly it was getting late and Stiles was tired. But mostly he didn't want to talk about this tonight. 

"But--"

"Jackson." Stiles sighed and frowned. 

Jackson huffed and nodded. He muttered a 'fine' and walked into the kitchen to get his jacket. He walked back into the livingroom after slipping on his jacket and bent down to hug Stiles. Because Stiles was short. He wasn't the type of midget short. But he was shorter than most of the guys at school. Except for Scott. 

"Bye, Pup." Stiles murmured as he gave Jackson's waist a squeeze before walking him to the door. He waved and watched as he began walking home. Stiles felt kind of bad now. Because Jackson lived a pretty good distance away from his place and he didn't bring his car. He went to Stiles' house with Danny after detention. They all rode in the jeep. But Jackson was a big boy who just so happens to be a werewolf. Everything was fine. Stiles liked to think anyway. But he couldn't help but worry. 

Stiles then let out a huff as he turned and trudged up the stairs after locking the door. He went to his room and changed into a pair of sweats and a tank top. He crawled into his bed and pulled the covers up to his chin, curling up in them. His phone on his bed side table. He didn't even try to fall asleep until he got a text from Jackson saying that he finally made it home. 

'Night Jax' Stiles texted. 

'Night mom <3' Was his reply. He only chuckled in response. After texting good night to Danny, Stiles finally decided to get some rest and just sleep. Seeing that he didn't have school tomorrow since it would be Saturday he figured that he could sleep in. He thought that he deserved it actually. After what had went down in the past week and a half was pretty stressing and may Stiles add quite frankly weird. And he hadn't gotten much sleep. 

It didn't take long after that for Stiles to fall into a for once dreamless sleep. He closed his eyes and let his breathing steady as he slowly began to drift off. He hadn't heard the quiet 'shuck' of his window being opened and the tapping of feet hitting the floor afterwards.  
...

Red eyes glowed in the dark as they set focused on the sleeping brunette that was curled up on the bed. The dark figured stood in one place and rarely ever moved to another. It leaned against the wall, arms crossed over it's chest as it let out a small huff. Taking in the scent of the room, He growled. It smelt like him. Not himself but Whittemore. He didn't like it at all. 

Quietly and slowly, the man made his way around the room, touching various objects that belonged to the Stilinski. He picked up a shirt with the Batman symbol on it and gripped it in his fists, rubbing his face all over it, nuzzling it with his cheek. When he was sure that mostly everything smelt like him, He returned to the window and opened it with another small 'shuck'. He flinched and slowly turned his head to see if Stiles had even moved an inch. He didn't. Oh, thank Go--

"Mmn.." Stiles rolled over onto his back, the covers inching down and barely even covering his legs now. He scratched at his stomach, handing sliding under the tank top causing it to slide up a bit. When the itch was gone he dropped his hand back down on the bed and let out a soft sigh. 

The man froze, ready to jump out of the window if necessary. He let out a small relieved sigh when he saw that Stiles hadn't noticed him. But he then froze once more. Eyes locked on the exposed skin of Stiles' stomach. The moon light shining through the window and down on Stiles' giving him a clear view of his creamy white mole dotted skin. And his happy trail leading down south. Oh how he wanted a taste. Just one little touch wouldn't hurt. Right?

He slowly made his way over to the bed, leaning over Stiles. He tilted his head as he looked from Stiles' exposed stomach to his face to make sure that he wasn't starting to wake before he leaned down and hesitantly brushed his lips against the skin. He smiled slightly as he heard Stiles let out a small giggle. The male parted his lips slightly and nipped at the skin, sucking lightly to leave a small hickey. He didn't drawl much of a response, but he got a small moan out of this. In the end, he got three hickeys on Stiles, one on his hip and the two other bruises near his naval. 

He looked the teen over a few times. The sweats clung to Stiles hips just right and the tank top was a little loose on Stiles, showing off more skin than intended too, but hey this guy wasn't complaining. Not one bit. Stiles' hair was tussled and sticking up in every direction possible. It was adorably sexy. Stiles didn't know it but even when he was asleep he was a tease. It just wasn't fair. 

The man forced himself to move away from Stiles and towards the window. He stole one last glance at the boy before slipping out of the window and shutting it after.  
...

Stiles awoke to the sound of his phone going off and the chirping of birds. And both were equally annoying. He shivered as he felt a chill roll down his spine. He reached down and pulled his blanket over him before feeling around on his side table for his phone. It took him a moment before he actually grasp a hold of the thing. He slid under the covers and turned on his phone. Damn everything was so bright. His eyes adjusted a few minutes later and he saw that he had received a text message..from an unknown number. Alright.

'Hey' It read. 

'Um..hey.'

'What's up?'

'Just woke up..'

'Oh..that's cool.' 

'Err..Who are you?' Stiles furrowed his brows as he rubbed the rest of the sleep from his eyes. 

'What? You don't recognize my number?' 

'Um. No.' Stiles didn't remember ever even stumbling upon a number with 580 in it. 

'Oh. That's alright. We've never really talked have we? It's Boyd by the way.' 

Stiles dropped his phone and just stared up at the ceiling. No, they have never talked before. But he remembered Boyd giving him his number when Derek had said that he should contact them if anything ever happens. Even if Scott could handle it. 

'Lol. Sorry I kind of lost your number awhile back, but what's up? And we haven't really talked before. No.'

Stiles forced himself up and out of bed. He held his phone in his hand as he walked to the bathroom. He took care of his business then headed downstairs. 

"Dad? You home?" He called as he entered the living room. Nothing. Apparently not. Stiles then began to rummage through the fridge for his water and a can of sardines. He sat at the table and ate sardines and drank the Fresh Springwater as he texted Boyd. It was sort of weird. Boyd wasn't the one to talk more or less the one to text. 

'So..not to seem rude or anything, but why are you texting me all of a sudden?' Stiles texted as he munched away on a sardine. 

'We're having a pack meeting tonight.'

Stiles paused for a second. He furrowed his brows again and pursed his lips. 

'What does this have to do with me? I'm not apart of your pack.' 

'Derek wants to see you.' 

Stiles stared at that text with shock. He blinked once then twice. He bit his lower lip and took a sip of his water. He was joking. Had to be. But then again..Boyd was always pretty serious. 

'Oh and be sure to bring Jackson and Danny with you too. Pack meeting at 7 tonight g2g.'

Stiles only sat there at the table, scrunching up his nose. Why would they want him to come to a pack meeting if he wasn't pack? More importantly Jackson and Danny. Derek disliked Jackson with a passion and he wasn't too fond of Danny either. 

"Whatever." Stiles shrugged and stood up. He threw the empty sardine can away and went to call Danny. Let his day be filled with more weird supernatural problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter was so much shorter than all of my others, but I'll make it up in my next chapter. Happy Valentine's Day! (I know everyone has different time zones, but ^__^)


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you mean he wants _us_ to come to his pack meeting?" The Hawaiian asked as he sat on the edge of the dock, feet kicking through the water slightly. He wasn't apart of anyone's pack the last time he recalled.

The boys met up as soon as Stiles finished eating the can of sardines. He called Danny first to inform him about the meeting later and then he called Jackson to see if he wanted to come over and hang out with them since he knew that the teen wouldn't like the idea of going to one of _Derek's_ pack meetings. He thought that it would be a good idea to butter him up first and then get straight to the point. But Jackson had decided to go back and try to straighten things up with Lydia so he declined the offer. 

"I don't know. That's what Boyd said--well texted anyways." Stiles shrugged as he floated through the water. His tail swishing slightly to keep him up.

Danny furrowed his brows as he leaned back on the dock. The last time he checked, Derek Hale was just some broody ass alpha who wanted nothing to do with them. Well..him to be exact. Or Jackson!

"Have you spoke to Derek about it? I mean, what if Boyd was just lying. And you said it was from an unknown number, right? Maybe it was just somebody trying to get you into some deep shit!" He suggested and pursed his lips.

Stiles snorted and rolled his eyes as he stared up at the blue sky. He was pretty sure that Boyd wouldn't lie about something like that. But then again it could have been somebody trying to get him into some deep shit with Derek. Because who wants three uninvited and unwanted people to come to their pack meeting? So Stiles was definitely going to have to call Derek about this sometime today before the meeting. 

"I haven't. But I will get to that. Eventually. And I'm pretty sure Boyd wouldn't do something like that. And..I don't know. I told you I'd talk to Derek about this eventually." Stiles shrugged and fiddled with his fingers. What if Derek actually did want them to come? But the question was 'Why?'.

"Dude. Eventually is a word that you never want to hear." Danny huffed as he looked off into the forest surrounding the lake. He pursed his lips, drumming his fingers against the dock.

It was silent for a little while after that conversation. Stiles ended up diving underwater to search for that piece of corral that he had cut himself on while Danny just continued to sit on the dock with his legs dangling in the water. He was laying back on it with his arms cushioning his head. His eyes closed as he hummed softly to himself. He was just relaxing as he bathed under the sun until he heard the snapping of a few twigs not too far off into the woods. His eyes slowly opening as he turned his head in the direction of the noise. 

There standing a few yards away on all fours was a wolf. It's teeth barred as it snarled. Danny's eyes widened slightly as his fingers twitched out of nervousness. The last time he checked this was a wolf free zone. He studied the wolf closely as he slowly sat up, not wanting it to think that he was going to try and escape or something. Which he probably was in the end but still. Being eaten was not on his To Do List for today.

"Fuck..me.." Danny murmured under his breath as he slowly inched closer to the edge of the dock. With every movement that he made the wolf only snarled and took a step closer. It wasn't too far away when Danny's butt was legit sitting on the very edge of the dock. The wood was digging into his ass and it hurt like fuck. But he didn't want to drop at the wrong time so he just stayed out. He stared at the wolf long and hard, biting the inside of his cheek before he pushed himself off of the dock and plunged into the water. The wolf letting out a growl as it darted for him but it was four seconds too late. It only circled around the lake afterwards. He only came to inspect that sweet scent that he had smelt from afar. And he was going to find out what it was. But he had a feeling that the human he had just encountered was hiding the thing that possessed such a sweet smell from him. 

Danny swam farther down just to make sure that if the wolf decided to dive down into the water that he couldn't get to him. He spun around in multiple circles until he spotted Stiles who was in the middle of trying to pull something off of a rock. Danny quickly swam over, legs kicking through the water. He tapped on Stiles' shoulder getting a quick glance at what Stiles was trying to pull off of the rock. A piece of shiny coral. Colorful too. Stiles always was distracted by shiny things. 

Stiles turned his head to look at him with a questioning eyebrow. His index finger slipping along the coral only to result in one nasty cut. The brunette only jerked his arm back and hissed, little air bubbles escaping his nose and mouth. Damn--that was twice now that he cut himself on the same piece of coral. He rubbed his index finger with his thumb as he looked at the Hawaiian. 

"There is a fucking wolf up there waiting to devour me." Danny pointed up at the surface and looked at the other male as if he were expecting him to do about it. Stiles only scrunched up his nose and furrowed his brows. 

"There's a wolf up there?" Stiles asked. He looked pretty freaked out so Stiles wasn't really doubting that there was a wolf up there. But that was a plus in a way. Because fuck--with his luck lately it could've been an ogre.

"Yes! It's up there!" Danny nodded and gestured for Stiles to swim up there. It took the brunette to actually swim up there first before Danny did himself. Eyes glancing up at the surface then back at Danny. After a few minutes he swam up until he was afloat, Danny following beside him. His head popped up out of the water and he looked around for a second. 

"There's nothing." Stiles said as he looked around the lake. He saw no wolf whatsoever. That was until he heard a growl coming from behind them causing Danny to dunk back into the water. He was not getting eaten today. No siree bob.

The Stilinski turned in the water in the direction of the growling. Damn that thing was huge. Not the size of a normal werewolf that had shifted, but damn near close. It's fur was black, lips still pulled back in a snarl as it cautiously stepped closer to the edge of the lake, slowly lowering it's head to sniff at the water, but never taking it's dark brown eyes off of the teen.  
Stiles knew he was fine. Wolves couldn't breathe under water could they? And they couldn't dive down as far without oxygen. The two teenagers could just stay in the lake a few yards down until the wolf went away. Unless it had called it's pack over. Oh Jesus, what if he was hungry? What if this was an actual wolf who hadn't eaten in days? Most of Beacon Hills was Hale territory so most werewolf packs weren't stupid enough to step foot in it without the consent of a Hale. Derek Hale that was. So it was most likely just a regular ol' wolf. But it could still do just as much damage.

The wolf's snarling died down when it figured out that the pleasant scent was coming from the supposed human in front of him. He tried taking a step forward towards the boy but he almost toppled into the water so he just circled around the lake, seeing if he could get to Stiles. But he couldn't. And that was when he began to whine.

Stiles observed the wolf as he stalked around the lake. He never once took his eyes off of him. Something in Stiles just told him that the wolf didn't mean any harm. Especially when he started whining. The wolf's eyes seemed like they had glazed over with forming tears. He wasn't growling or trying to intimidate like before. The brunette hesitantly and slowly swam over to the fur ball, arm extended for him to sniff to know that he wasn't an opponent just in case.

The wolf's whining only grew as Stiles neared. He leaned forward until his wet muzzle bumped with Stile's arm, happily sniffing away. When his nose bumped against his arm it caused the brunette to flinch thinking of the worst, but when the wolf only sniffed and lightly nipped at his arm and fingers, he knew he was fine. 

It wasn't long until Danny was peeking over the rock from across the lake to see if the wolf was still there. And his eyes widened as he saw that the wolf wasn't growling or snarling at his best friend. He didn't understand. It was just growling at him not even five seconds ago.

"Awe.." Stiles cracked a grin as he swam up against the edge of the lake and leaned over to run his fingers through the black fur. It was so soft! Had some dirt up in there but other than that his fur was the softest he'd ever felt before.

"What?" Danny exclaimed as he swam over. He kept his distance from the wolf just in case. But it paid no attention to him. It was more focused on showing Stiles some love.

"He was growling and snarling at me a minute ago and now he's giving you love?" Danny huffed as he swam over to the dock and pulled himself out of the water with the help of the rock that Stiles had busted his head open on before.

"He's adorable. Maybe he just wanted a friend?" Stiles cooed as the wolf licked his cheek.

"A friend my ass." Danny scoffed and made sure not to get too close to the beast as he went to go get himself a towel from the jeep. Damn animals. He never really got along with them. Except for the sea turtles back in Azure but that was besides the point. Most of the sea animals were friendly back there. But these were land creatures we were talking about here. They didn't like him and he didn't like them. End of story.

"Don't be such an ass." Stiles scratched behind the wolf's ear as he felt something whiz passed his ear making his flinch slightly. He turned his head just in time to see a little ball of light shoot passed his head and head straight towards Danny. He didn't even react when he saw the little orb swirling around Danny, seeming to tug at the shirt that he had just now put on. Danny didn't even seem fazed as he continued to dry his hair, throwing glances at the white orb in front of him that was zipping everywhere in front of him. Didn't even seem fazed by it. Then his eyes widened and he froze, hands stilling as he stared at the glowing orb like it told him some kind of secret. He eyes widened as his mouth stay opened slightly as he stared and stared.

"What do you mean, 'There is a pack of wolves coming this way'?" Danny asked as he looked in the other direction towards the woods, swallowing hard. There were little whispers as the white orb buzzed around Danny, the little flap of wings barely heard at Stiles' distance.

Stiles heard Danny's panicking and looked over the wolf to see what was going on. Nothing so far. Except for the fact that he was running back towards the water, dolphin diving back into the lake because Stiles was guessing that he could.

"Stiles, Stiles, Stiles, werewolves. Pack. We are going to die today. Why? Holy fuck." Danny began to panic as they now floated through the water. The Hawaiian was totally freaking, clutching at his head as his gaze flickered here and there.

"What's wrong? What was that thing up there?" Stiles questioned as his tail flicked back and forth.

"What's wrong? What d'you mean what's wrong? There's a pack of wolves coming to bite our asses. And what do you mean? The lone wolf who was getting all up in your shit or the fairy who came to worn us?" Danny kept looked up into the water as he bit his lip, afraid that the pack would come sooner than expected. Because He could hear them pretty clearly. The thumping in the ground vibrating the water which they swam in was a dead give away that they were close. And they were all coming for Stiles.

"What? Fairy?" Stiles asked after awhile as the tanned skinned boy gripped his wrist, tugging him down further into the water where the werewolves couldn't get to them even if they tried. Because nobody could hold their breath for this long.

"Seriously? That's all that you got from this, Genim?" He groaned as he kept his grip on Stiles' wrist tight so that he wouldn't hatch up a plan to try and reason with the people when they got there.

"That was a fairy?" He asked curiously.

"Stiles!" His guardian groaned in slight annoyance.

"What's going on?" Stiles asked for the fiftieth time.

"Well, a Fae came along and told me that there was a pack located nearby and they were headed this way in a hurried manner..straight for the lake. And they wouldn't be headed in this direction if they didn't know we were here. Your scent's stronger than you think. It was stronger than before. It's got its disadvantages and its advantages. And right now, is where both of them come in handy," He started as the thumping got louder. The Fae had flew off to go get help from somebody that they knew they could trust to come help the Prince and His guardian. They knew that they wouldn't fail them. Not this group of people.

"This area isn't Hale territory. Nor is it McCall territory. So it's most likely theirs. Or maybe not yet. But either way we are most likely trespassing. They want you. Because of your scent. And they aren't going to just go away because you're hiding. They don't want me. If they wanted, they could rip me to shreds." Danny shrugged as he went on. He didn't know exactly who the Fae went to go get help from. But all he knew is that they wouldn't have enough time for Stiles to change back and then for them to drive off to somewhere along their territory. Not today.

"Your smell is intoxicating to some creatures. Especially werewolves. For some odd reason they find mer-people quite the treat. I have no clue why. I don't know what we smell like. We smell like saltwater to me, but whatever. The thing is is that we wait until help comes or otherwise something bad is going to happen." He explained as he stared at Stiles once he knew that the pack of unwanted werewolves were here.

It took about two seconds for Stiles to process all of this into his mind before he finally spoke, gripping Danny's shoulders lightly.

"So..what you're saying is..is that if we don't stay down here until help comes then we'll die?" Stiles asked as he stared long and hard into another pair of brown eyes.

"Me, most likely. I don't know about you. Your scent's stronger than mine. I know that much." He shrugged as he let his body tense up as he heard more thumping, the water rippling slightly. Telling him that one of the pack members had dived into the water in search of the sweet smell.

"Fuuuck." Danny whined as he swam as far down to the bottom of the lake as he could, his butt touching the slightly rocky bottom. Unfortunately, the lake was deep but not deep enough. Danny could still see the body of the werewolf. It wasn't blurry due to the fact that he could see underwater since he was a merman and he had better vision than humans when it came to looking through water. But just because he could see them didn't mean that they could see him. He was praying that they couldn't.

Stiles had sunken down to the bottom as well to follow Danny, breath hitching as his heart skipped a beat as he saw someone dive into the water. He squeezed Danny's hand as his tail flipped nervously. He knew the werewolf could at least hear his heart beat. That gave him the clue that he was close to his treasure.

"Danny.." Stiles whispered as he gulped almost drawing blood from his lip as his teeth sunk into the flesh.

"Ssh.." He shushed him as he waited, seeing the man dive down farther into the water to inspect further.

Stiles almost let out a whimper, seeing that the werewolf was indeed closer than he had thought. He could now make out the facial features of the man. He had to be at least in his thirties. He had shaggy jet black hair while sporting a small goatee. His jawline was definitely on point. And damn, Stiles wouldn't mind getting him a piece of that. If it weren't for the fact that they might die in this situation.

The man looked around but seemed unaware of the fact that the two teens were just a yard below him. He swam from edge to edge trying to see if he could see anything but couldn't. So he had to swim back up since he was losing his breath, hand coming up to rub water out of his face and push his bangs from his eyes.

"They can't see us. Or hear us." Danny breathed out in relief as he ran his free hand over his face, drumming his fingers over his face lightly. Because these people weren't going to leave anytime soon.

"That wolf that you petted up there, Stiles, was apart of their pack. He's younger than most of them. And clearly a shifter. He scented you, Stiles. I didn't realize this until now. If we go to a pack meeting with you smelling like another pack while we're not in it, we're as good as dead meat. That is, if we survive this anyways." Danny huffed as he clenched his fist slightly, pursing his lips.

Stiles only huffed thinking that he made a friend today that didn't want to possibly eat him or want to bring him into another crappy pack.

...

Erica swatted at the little pest that continued to buzz around her, growling and snapping at it as the little Fae huffed and glared at the blonde. Becuase she _wasn't_ listening. _why_ wasn't she listening? Did she not know that Prince Genim was possibly in danger? What was wrong with these people? She thought they were a pack. But maybe they weren't?

She was now tugging and pulling at her hair trying to get her attention. And she did. But not in the way that she wanted. She wanted her to listen but it was obvious that she wasn't going to.

"You stupid little pest!" Erica growled as she took another swing at the Fae.

"Erica, what the hell are you doing?" Derek stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised as he held a smug face.

"If you can't see, there's a fucking fly that won't leave me alone." She growled as she shot a glare at her alpha who only scoffed in response.

This only infuriated the Fae even more because this woman wasn't even _trying_ to listen to her and she just called her a 'fly'. So she kicked her in the nose. It would only hurt like a pinch but at least she got to take her anger out on the other. When she was done trying to speak to the blonde she went over to Derek who was still watching the scene.

"Daniel and Prince Genim are in trouble! You've gotta help, help, help!" The Fae's voice was squeaky and soft but just loud enough for Derek to hear. He only furrowed his brows as he watched her flail her arms.

" 'Prince Genim' and 'Daniel'? Those people might be..? And you better have a good reason for barging in on my territory and annoying my pack." Derek rolled his eyes with a small scoff.

"Genim and Daniel! Oh, I knew a brooding wolf like you wouldn't help me. Prince Stiles is going to die—and it's going to be all my fault. Oh, my! What about Daniel?" She yelped as her light dimmed slightly, revealing her small petite frame. Red hair caressing the curves of her face as freckles dotted her rosy cheeks, eyes as green as the leaves on the trees.

" _Stiles_?" Derek glared causing the girl to shudder slightly.

"Y-yeah. They need your help." She nodded vigorously as she pointed back towards the forest.

"Where is he?" Surely his growls echoed throughout the forest and his home because he could hear Boyd whine as he made his way down the beat up stairs.

By the time Derek and his pack got to the old lake he was already wolfed out—as Stiles would say, claws popping out as he bared his teeth. Erica and Boyd right at his side ready to protect their little dork.

"Stiles." He growled as he looked around before spotting the rogue pack in front of them who were circling around the lake. The guy who stood at the dock staring into the water talking to it as if it would speak back, was the first to notice their arrival.

"C'mon little fishy fishy..we ain't gonna hurt ya." He gave an animalistic grin as he tapped his foot on the dock impatiently. Derek didn't know if this wolf was crazy or if he was actually talking to a fish. Or if Stiles was the 'fishy' but he didn't care as long as he found Stiles.

It didn't take the man long to notice that there was an alpha right behind him ready to rip him to shreds if needed. He turned on his heel and grinned at Derek and his betas the rest of his pack turning to face them as well.

"Well look at what we have here." He chuckled softly as he drummed his claws against his jeans, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

"Where's the human?" Erica barked out as she bared her teeth. She didn't see Stiles anywhere but she couldn't help but notice how sweet the air was. She was sniffing the air the whole time she threatened the other pack about their human. She soon found out that the source of the pleasant smell was coming from the lake causing her to scrunch her nose in confusion. 

"What human?" The man laughed as he cocked an eyebrow at the trio, head tilted slightly towards the lake before he continued, "We're searching fr a mermaid if you don't mind, Boy. We're not on your land so why bother?" 

"Give us the boy and you can have your 'mermaid'." Derek growled as he snapped his teeth. 

"Like we said, Mr. Alpha. There is no boy here. Nor a human. We're here looking for a mermaid." The only female of the pack snorted and ran her fingers through her blonde hair, tucking a strand behind her ear after. She let her eyes scan over the three before her eyes actually landed on the alpha. She didn't take time before to look over the alpha but now that she had she couldn't take her eyes off of him. A smirk forming on her face as she bit her lip lightly. 

"You're kinda cute when you're all mad and pouty.." She cooed as she placed a hand on her hip. She hadn't had a man for some time now and she was pretty bored spending her time hunting 24/7 with her idiotic pack mates. Maybe her flirting game was still strong?

Erica furrowed her brows as she turned to look at Boyd who was tilting his head in confusion, small huffs falling from him as his guard fell slightly. The leader of the Rogue Pack paused slightly to turn his head towards the female who was currently flirting with the enemy pack. She's done this before but with the enemy's 

"Listen, Sister. He's taken-" Erica began with a cock of her hip. She was shocked when the girl cut her off. Was she serious?

"Doesn't look like it. He's not mated. Anyone within a mile can tell. So he's free bait, right?" She rolled her eyes and winked at Derek who, in return, narrowed his eyes and snorted once more. Who did this bimbo think she was?

" _Excuse_ me?" Erica's eyes narrowed as she cocked her head to the side. 

Stiles tilted his head slightly as he heard bickering going on up there. Was that Erica's voice up there? His Sass Radar was hitting the charts. His curiosity getting the best of him as he swam up to the surface to see if that was actually Erica. 

Danny gaped at the boy and swam up after him trying to pull him back by his tail but failed miserably. 

To Stiles' surprise he was greeted to a severe cat fight with arguing on the side. Erica was busy pulling and yanking out another blonde's hair as Derek and Boyd occupied themselves with the three males from the Rogue Pack. He blinked as he let everything sink in but what sparked his interest the most was that Derek and his pack had come to help them but what really hit him hard was that Erica was beating the shit out of the girl--not with her wolfy powers and such but without the sort. Using her freshly manicured and sharp nails like the girls at school did when someone stole blah blah blah's man. 

In the end Derek and the pack scared away the Rogue's and turned towards Erica who only scoffed and flipped her hair before she limped on her broken heel to Boyd's side. There was no way that she was going to let that bimbo win that. Boyd made sure he looked over his girl to check and see if she had any injuries but in the end he saw none and turned back to Derek who was still huffing and puffing since they didn't get their human after all of that. 

"Are you kidding me, Vernon? My babies are _broken_. They're fucking broken! You're going to buy me a new pair when we go into town!" Erica screeched as Boyd flinched slightly. He pursed his lips and let out a small sigh as he pulled her into a small embrace before letting out a small chuckle. That was his Erica alright. 

"That was nice." Stiles commented as he leaned up against the dock, half of his body sticking out of the water as he laid on the wood, "Kitty's got claws." He grinned as his tail slapped against the water. 

"Stiles?" Derek's attention quickly turned towards the familiar voice as did the other two's. 

Danny only face palmed as he sunk back into the lake. He thought they were going to keep this whole merman business on the down low but apparently not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever!! I was being lazy and I felt like I needed a break and I took that break--and it kind of evolved into more laziness and I deeply and truly apologize! But I'm back now with a new laptop and I'll have the next chapter up in a few days!! Merry Christmas guys!!! <3


	7. Chapter 7

I apologize again you guys! I am currently working on the next chapter but school is literally too much at the moment and I have tests and work piling up by the day ! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up when I get some free time! <3

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...


End file.
